Rivalries: Arnold Allen

While Arnold Allen remains a Top 10 fixture in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s featherweight rankings, he wants to get a little more juice out of his squeeze.

The 30-year-old Firas Zahabi protégé will seek his first win in nearly 21 months when he locks horns with Kings MMA standout Giga Chikadze in a featured UFC 304 attraction this Saturday at Co-op Live in Manchester, England. Allen steps back into the spotlight on the heels of back-to-back losses. He owns a 10-2 record in the UFC, his run with the promotion highlighted by victories over Calvin Kattar, Dan Hooker, Sodiq Yusuff, Nik Lentz and Mads Burnell.

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As Allen closes in on his forthcoming battle with Chikadze at 145 pounds, a look at a few of the rivalries that have helped shape his career to this point:

Makwan Amirkhani

Allen continued his steady climb on the 145-pound ladder when he captured a split decision over “Mr. Finland” and passed his first real test inside the Octagon in an entertaining back-and-forth UFC Fight Night 107 featherweight showcase on March 18, 2017 at the O2 Arena in London. Judges Mark Collett and Paul Sutherland struck 30-27 scorecards for Allen, while Howard Hughes saw it 29-28 for Amirkhani. The three-round bout was marked by wild momentum swings. Amirkhani executed takedowns in all three rounds and aggressively hunted chokes. Allen denied all his advances, drained his gas tank and capitalized when the SBG Ireland export overextended himself on the ground. He reversed into top position on more than one occasion, achieved full mount in the second round and wheeled to the back late in the third, where he slipped his arms underneath Amirkhani’s chin just as the final horn sounded.

Gilbert Melendez

The two-time Strikeforce champion was shown the door in unceremonious fashion when Allen shut him out in their featured UFC 239 prelim on July 6, 2019 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. All three cageside judges struck 30-27 scorecards for Allen, who took yet another step forward as an emerging threat in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s featherweight division. Operating in the shadows of the Jon Jones-Thiago Santos main event, Melendez could only survive. Allen picked him apart with clean punching combinations to the body and head, chewed up his lead leg with kicks and even mixed in a third-round takedown. Once viewed as one of the sport’s top lightweights, Melendez’s frustration was visible and only grew as the minutes ticked away. Allen was credited with 102 significant strikes landed and absorbed only 23 of them in return.

Max Holloway

Allen’s first encounter with true greatness proved to be a bridge too far, as he wound up on the wrong side of a unanimous decision against the Hawaiian in their five-round UFC on ESPN 44 headliner on April 15, 2023 at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. Scores were 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47. Allen improved his standing in defeat, refusing to break in the face of overwhelming pressure from the Hawaiian. Holloway stayed a step ahead for much of the match, routinely beat the Englishman to the punch and built a comfortable lead, both statistically and on the scorecards. Allen was informed between the fourth and fifth rounds that he likely needed a finish, and to his credit, he fervently chased one across the final five minutes. Despite those considerable efforts, Holloway managed to quell any hopes of a late rally and outlanded him by a 35-24 margin in Round 5.

Movsar Evloev

The former M-1 Global champion kept his perfect professional record intact and moved ever closer to title contention at 145 pounds with a unanimous decision over Allen in their three-round UFC 297 appetizer on Jan. 20, 2024 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 29-28 for Evloev. Allen oftentimes looked like a man who was caught in the no man’s land between offense and defense. Evloev used the ever-present threat of the takedown to keep the Tristar Gym export at bay for much of the match. He staggered Allen with a stiff jab in the second round and followed it with a sweeping right hook that opened a serious horizontal gash under his left eye. Those efforts afforded him some wiggle room in Round 3. There, Allen cut off the American Top Team rep with a front headlock and then uncorked three illegal knees to the side of the head, one of which drew a steady stream of blood. After a brief pause to the action and a warning from referee Marc Goddard, he caught an oncoming Evloev in a ninja choke in a bid to turn the tide. The unshakable Russian scrambled free, extricated himself from danger and rode out the remaining time.