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Arnold Allen possesses just about every attribute you’d look for in a UFC future star. At just 27-years-old, he has age on his side. Alongside hunger, drive and determination, he has submission skills, impressive grappling and accurate striking.
With 18 professional MMA fights under his belt, he has experience. Although irrelevant for his abilities in the cage, Arnold ‘Almighty’ Allen also has a top-class alliterative name. If there’s anything I love more than a great MMA fighter, it’s a great MMA fighter with a great name…
On Saturday night, Arnold Allen showed exactly why he is so highly touted as a future champion in the UFC featherweight division.
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UFC Vegas 23: Arnold Allen vs. Sodiq Yusuff
At UFC Vegas 23 this past weekend, Arnold Allen secured his biggest win yet. To extend his MMA winning streak to 10 and move to 8-0 in the UFC, Allen beat fellow prospect Sodiq Yusuff.
On the feet, Allen was impressive. On more than one occasion he connected clean and rocked the Nigerian-born featherweight. Despite not being able to find the finish, the Englishman’s striking and ability to control the fight in the final round when he appeared to fatigue has firmly established his name near the top of the division.
Arnold Allen was ranked in the number 10 spot prior to his fight on Saturday, and it stands to reason he’ll fight a top name when he next walks to the octagon. With that said, here are three potential next opponents for Arnold Allen in the UFC.
#3 Josh Emmett
As a fellow Englishman, I'd be hesitant to send my compatriot into a cage with a man like Josh Emmett. However, a win over a monster like Emmett would go a long way in helping Allen ascend to the top of the featherweight division.
In his last fight, Emmett beat Shane Burgos in an absolute war. The 36-year-old’s performance became even more impressive after it was revealed he’d injured himself early in the bout. The list of injuries he sustained is remarkable. No amount of adrenaline can mask a complete ACL tear; a sprained MCL with partial tearing; a focal impact fracture of his femur; a cartilage defect on his tibia and a Baker’s cyst rupture.
The fact he fought with those injuries, won and collected a $50,000 bonus in doing so, is a frightening sporting feat.
The question with this matchup is, would Emmett be ready to return soon enough for Arnold Allen? In short, it seems not. Recent quotes from Emmett suggest he will return towards the end of the year at the very earliest. After his fight on Saturday, Arnold Allen suggested a return to the octagon in August is his target.
Emmett also seems set on fighting someone ranked higher than him. At number seven in the division, it seems that a fight with Arnold Allen might not be of interest to him.
"If they have a 1 through 6 in front of them, OK, let's do it," Emmett said on What The Heck. “But I’m not fighting behind me. I made that clear. I’m not fighting anyone behind me, because in my last handful of fights, I’m always fighting back, I’m never going anywhere. I’ll stay stagnant, and I do want to get closer to that title.”
#2 Edson Barboza or Shane Burgos
Although both are lower ranked than Arnold Allen, Shane Burgos and Edson Barboza are two names that could help excel the Englishman even further. They're also two of the most recognizable and exciting names at 145lbs. Allen’s win over Yusuff went some way to establishing his name as a real featherweight contender. A win over either of these two would leave no doubt.
Barbosa and Burgos are set to face each other in May at UFC 262. On paper, it has all the makings of an absolute classic. Thank goodness fans are back in arenas for this one…
The pair are ranked 12th and 14th in the featherweight division. Burgos is 14-2 as a professional and is entering his next fight off the back of a Fight of the Night defeat against Josh Emmett. If his fight with Barboza is even half as good, we’re in for a treat.
The Brazilian, meanwhile, recorded his first win since moving down to the division against Makwan Amirkhani last October. The veteran had previously lost a controversial split decision to the rising Dan Ige.
The winner will likely enter the top-10 and a mouth-watering matchup with Arnold Allen is a strong possibility.
#1 Dan Ige
Arnold Allen versus Dan Ige would be some matchup...
Ige’s potential has always been off the charts and he is beginning to realize it. After a defeat on his UFC debut, ‘Dynamite’ built an incredible seven-fight winning streak. Victories over Danny Henry, Kevin Aguilar, Mirsad Bektic and Edson Barboza put Ige’s name at the top of the featherweight list of prospects.
A unanimous decision loss to Calvin Kattar on Fight Island last summer provided a slight derail to the ‘50K’ hype train, but after rebounding with the brutal knockout of Gavin Tucker last month, the 29-year-old is well and truly back on track.
Both Ige and Arnold Allen sit towards the bottom of the division’s top 10. A fight between the two would perhaps establish the top prospect in the division and decide which of the pair is ready for a top-five challenge.
