Max Holloway able to defeat Arnold Allen by unanimous decision after an instant classic.
Max Holloway proved he is still one of the best featherweight fighters in the world with a strong performance against Arnold Allen in the main event of UFC Kansas City. The former UFC featherweight champion won via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47) in a crossroads fight in his career.
Holloway's victory was crucial to maintain his place as a top contender, and his win solidifies his position as a top fighter in the featherweight division. Coming into the fight, ESPN had Holloway ranked No. 3 in the world at featherweight and Allen at No. 8. Allen was looking for his biggest win to date after starting his UFC career with 10 straight wins.
The fight was closely contested, with both fighters showing their skills and heart. Holloway came out strong in the first round, landing combinations in a southpaw stance. He switched back to orthodox and landed a hard right kick to the body late in the first, a technique he used masterfully all night. Allen rallied in the second with some hard combinations.
The third round was a key for Holloway. Allen cut him early on the inside of his left eye with a punch, but Holloway landed combos and three hard body kicks late.
In the fourth, Allen landed some nice left hands and might have done enough to even things up going into final round. Allen pressured Holloway hard to start the fifth and landed. But Holloway landed a spinning back elbow and, after getting clipped in the closing seconds, rocked Allen with two left hooks and a right hand as the bell sounded.
Despite the tough challenge from Allen, judges Chris Lee and Sal D'Amato both gave Holloway the first four rounds. Judge Travis Buesking gave Holloway the first, third and fourth rounds.
Holloway was gracious in victory, urging the crowd to applaud Allen's performance. "Please, when this man -- this friggin' beast of a man -- takes the mic, please don't boo the man," Holloway said. "Please cheer for him. Let's cheer for him. It takes two to dance and he did it."
Holloway's win marks his first victory since losing his title to Alexander Volkanovski in December 2019. The former champion proved that he is still a force to be reckoned with and is now back in contention for another shot at the featherweight belt.
Holloway has indicated he'll keep taking contender fights to keep himself in the conversation even though getting a fourth fight against Volkanovski seems far-fetched. On the postfight show, Holloway said he could consider moving up to lightweight, where he lost an interim title fight to Dustin Poirier in 2019.
Max Holloway (23-7) was coming off a third loss to UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski last July at UFC 276. The Hawaii native has won three of his past four overall. Holloway, 31, is 16-4 in his past 20 fights, with the only losses coming in title fights. The last time Holloway lost a nontitle bout was against Conor McGregor 10 years ago.
Meanwhile, Arnold Allen (19-2) had a 12-fight winning streak snapped. The England-born fighter had not lost since 2014. Allen, 29, was coming off a TKO (injury) win over Calvin Kattar last October.
With his victory, Holloway became the 12th fighter to earn 20 UFC victories. He also became the only fighter to land more than 3,000 significant strikes and surpassed more than seven hours in the Octagon after his bout against Allen, making him the third fighter to do that.