'Max beat him [Yair]' - Arnold Allen brands Max Holloway challenge 'bigger' than interim title fight
No.4-ranked UFC featherweight Arnold Allen said that former divisional champion Max Holloway poses a bigger challenge than interim featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez. 'Almighty' appeared on The MMA Hour with veteran journalist Ariel Helwani and spoke about his upcoming matchup with 'Blessed' at UFC Fight Night 222.
The aforementioned fight card will be the second headliner card for the English mixed martial artist. Allen said that he wasn't surprised at being matched up with Holloway, particularly since the interim featherweight title fight was announced between Rodriguez and Josh Emmett.
Arnold Allen said the following about the Max Holloway fight:
"It was the matchup I was hoping for when they announced the interim fight. So I was kind of — not surprised, I was expecting it. But then the UFC doesn’t always do what you expect. Sometimes they come out of left field with something, and I’m like, ‘Hang on a minute, what’s going on there?' But in a way I was sort of relieved, because that was the next best option out there that wasn’t an interim title shot. For me, I think this is bigger than that opportunity, right?"
Skip to 7:50 for Arnold Allen's thoughts on the Max Holloway fight:
Allen doubled down on the fact that a non-title fight with Max Holloway is bigger than an interim title fight with Yair Rodriguez, with the following:
"All respect to Yair, but you know, Max beat him the last time out."
Holloway hasn't lost to anyone else in the division since losing the 145-pound title to Alexander Volkanovski. He was in two Fight of the Night bouts against Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodriguez, where he looked untouchable.
However, against the featherweight champion at UFC 276, 'Blessed' didn't have an answer to the champion's evolved skill-set.
How will Arnold Allen fare against Max Holloway at UFC Fight Night 222?
With Yair Rodriguez claiming Max Holloway's No.1 spot in the rankings, the former featherweight champion has moved a step away from fighting for the title. Arnold Allen is making strides in the opposite direction towards the title, being undefeated in the UFC and having wins over names like Sodiq Yusuff, Dan Hooker, and Calvin Kattar.
Max Holloway has looked untouchable in the featherweight division, except when he faced Volkanovski. No other fighter has been able to mount an offense on Holloway like the current 145-pound champion.
Arnold Allen OK with facing Max Holloway instead of interim title shot: ‘I think this is bigger’ mmafighting.com/2023/2/13/2359… https://t.co/dEOx5nfmgy
Holloway may have the advantage as a taller fighter, but Allen has a reach advantage of 0.5 inches over 'Blessed'. Furthermore, Allen has more submission wins than Holloway in his career spanning 10 fights less than Holloway's 30 fights.
Holloway is a striking monster, but Volkanovski laid out the path to beating him. If Allen can take a cue from Volkanovski's playbook, he may be able to pull off the win. Arnold Allen put his striking prowess on display against Dan Hooker at UFC Fight Night 222 where he knocked the Kiwi fighter out in the first round.