Arnold Allen’s undefeated decade came to an end last year after he met the skill and grit of Max Holloway, but he has a chance to return this Saturday at UFC 297.
History beckoned to ‘Almighty’ and he would have been assured of a title shot had he managed to find a way past the Hawaiian.
Those dreams of becoming the next British UFC champion have been put on hold and now Allen is swimming in the shark-infested waters of the featherweight elite.
It won’t be an easy task to keep your head above water. Movsar Evloev (17-0) is this weekend’s opponent for the fighter from Suffolk, a man who has not suffered a loss in his career thus far.
They meet this Saturday in Toronto in perhaps the most interesting fight on the card outside of Sean Strickland’s title defense against Dricus du Plessis in the headliner.
Arnold Allen desperate to bounce back from his defeat to Max Holloway (left)
Allen fell short against ‘Blessed’, but can put himself back in title contention
It will be a slippery slope downhill for Allen if he is unable to bounce back, but he seems like a man completely fixated on the task at hand.
He told Mail Sport: ‘I haven’t really thought about anything other than beating this man. I’ve been laser focused for four months, they gave me a year’s notice.
“The UFC just sent you a name and a date: yes or no, that’s how they work and it was a resounding ‘yes’ from me.”
Allen had compiled an incredibly impressive record of nearly a decade without losing before crossing paths with Holloway, a future Hall of Fame fighter.
He acquitted himself excellently in five rounds but ultimately came up short and is unwilling to sugarcoat the defeat, although he insists the months that followed are no different to when he swept aside all comers.
“It’s not really different at all, it was a matter of going back to the gym, back to the drawing board and training the same way as always,” he said.
“There were some positives I think I took from the Holloway fight, but it sucks no matter how you spin it.”
Holloway and Allen’s previous four meetings have been against opponents who like to attack, but Evloev is a different challenge and it will be fascinating to see how he fares.
Movsar Evloev (above) is Allen’s undefeated opponent this weekend
The Russian has racked up 33 takedowns in his last seven fights and the game plan is hardly a secret.
“This is completely the opposite of what I’ve been fighting recently, it’s a tough test and he’s a tough customer,” Allen explained.
“I’m going to have to be on my A-game and be a complete MMA fighter to go in there and show what I’m capable of. I’m going to go out there and dominate.”
The Brit already spends a lot of time in Canada, training at Tristar Gym in Montreal, where he works with Georges St-Pierre.
Teaming up with the man considered by many to be the greatest UFC fighter of all time should have a significant impact, although Allen didn’t ask him for specific advice this weekend, instead leaning on his coaches.
He continued: ‘I didn’t ask GSP for advice on this, I trained a lot with Georges, but didn’t ask for advice, only the coaches.
‘I have brought in an Olympic silver medalist wrestling coach and my coaches give me good tips and advice. So the structure of the camp was a little more wrestling based than normal.
‘Almighty’ could be two fights away from another shot at the featherweight title
It will be fascinating to see how he has developed after five rounds with Holloway
‘There is a danger of overdoing it, but the good thing is that the techniques are applied by trial and error and in camp you can eliminate things that don’t work, find training partners, see who is good and who is bad.
‘Thanks to that extra time, you can get the best and right mix.’
Allen still hopes to get revenge on Holloway in the future, a prospect that ‘Blessed’ talked about in the aftermath of their fight last year.
But he will first see the Hawaiian take on Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 before his featherweight rival returns to his natural division, if that is indeed the plan.
So after spending 25 minutes in the octagon with Holloway, how does he see that match going in what is the biggest fight yet on the historic April 13 card?
“I think Gaethje will be too strong for Holloway,” he predicts. “He’ll beat him with some good shots, I think. Holloway is great, but I think his best work is at featherweight. It would be nice to meet him again myself someday.’
But for now, Evloev is all Allen sees and if he can hand the Russian a first defeat, 2024 could be a great year.