Britain’s next UFC champion? Arnold Allen prepares for ‘dangerous’ first main event

Interview: The Ipswich featherweight faces Calvin Kattar on Saturday as each man eyes a title shot

Arnold Allen is a man of few words, but if there is a cliche about fighters doing their talking in the ring, the Briton might just have screamed his way to victory last time out.

It was in a sold-out O2 Arena in London that the Ipswich featherweight last competed, recording the biggest win of his career by securing a first-round TKO of Dan Hooker in March. It took Allen a moment to find the right words, so to speak, but once he had done so, he drowned out Hooker with a ferocious flurry of punches. Although the New Zealander dropped Allen to a knee somewhere amid the onslaught, the Briton’s relentless pursuit of a finish paid off inside two-and-a-half minutes, as he stopped Hooker against the fence.

Next up for the 28-year-old is Calvin Kattar on Saturday, as Allen takes part in a UFC main event for the first time. The promotion’s Apex institute in Las Vegas will make for very different surroundings than a sold-out O2 Arena.

“Yeah, just a bit! Just a bit...” Allen says. “I mean, it’s a bit disappointing, but I get my own main event. That’s pretty cool, that makes up for it.”

Allen enters his clash with Kattar as the UFC’s sixth-ranked featherweight, while the American occupies fifth spot.

“It’s what I asked for, so I’m very happy to get the opportunity – especially in a main event spot,” Allen says. “This is the one we’ve been working towards, the step that’s gonna put us up there with the elite. He is an elite opponent, so a win here puts me there.

“[Kattar] has had a great career. I don’t really know him personally, but he’s a good fighter, he’s tough as nails. Even the fights where he’s sort of lost decisively, he’s in it all the way until the end, trying to get a finish. He’s a dangerous guy.”

‘Finish’ is in fact in Kattar’s name, with 13 of the “Boston Finishers”’s 26 wins having come via stoppages, and 11 of those via knockout or TKO. Meanwhile, Allen – despite his victory over Hooker – is not known for ending fights, but that is largely due to a recent four-bout run in which he went the distance each time. However, 10 of his 18 victories have come via finishes.

Arnold Allen finished Dan Hooker with a series of punches against the fence (PA)

The misconception around Allen’s ability to stop opponents, coupled with his tendency not to rely on trash talk, has meant the road towards a title shot has perhaps been longer for the Briton that it need have been. But his training partner Leon Edwards, who claimed welterweight gold in the UFC in August, and new lightweight champion Islam Makhachev are proving that fighters don’t need to rely on creating controversy to succeed at the highest level.

“There’s always gonna be a thing in combat sports, like...” Allen starts. “Talking is always fun, when someone says funny stuff or calls people out, but it goes in waves. I remember before, obviously GSP [Georges St-Pierre] was very humble and never talked, and look at him. He’s one of the best of all time. I think it just comes down to winning at the end of the day – and winning in good fashion as well.”

If Allen can do that on Saturday, he may well be next in line to challenge featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, though it seems the UFC is keen to pair the Australian with Makhachev in a lightweight title bout early next year. That could mean a longer wait for Allen, but the Ipswich fighter is adamant that he cannot yet think that far ahead.

Calvin Kattar (left) is the highest-ranked opponent that Allen has faced (Getty Images)

“I haven’t even thought about it to be honest with you,” he says. “[Kattar] is the task at hand, that’s what I’m thinking about.”

If he were forced to fight again before challenging for gold, however, Allen would welcome the challenge of any other top-five opponent in the division.

“Yeah, all of them really. That’s what I’m here to do. I’ve trained really hard, I’ve dedicated my whole life to this. That’s why I like the challenge, trying to figure out those top opponents. I’ve always thought: The better guys I fight, the better I’m gonna show myself [to be].

“So far, that’s been true; every time I’ve had to step up, I’ve stepped up another level. I think it’s gonna be the same here as well.”