We are going to take a closer look at the main card opener between Arnold Allen & Movsar Evloev, as the UFC rolls into Canada.
Now, I must warn you… This article may contain British bias, British ignorance & plenty of Arnold Allen fanboying. Something which I will not apologize for. So buckle up buttercups.
Arnold ‘AAA’ ‘Almighty’ Allen
This sport is brutal. It is violent. It is heartbreaking. These are all reasons why we love it so much. The reason we are addicted to the game. Now, what we witness on a weekly basis in this sport, is trash talking. Which sometimes goes too far. Let’s look into the not so distant past and the undeniable present. See Colby Covington, talking about Leon Edwards’ murdered father in vein. Follow that with Dricus Du Plessis talking about Sean Strickland‘s childhood abuse. Then onto Sean Strickland’s threats to stab Dricus if it is brought up again this week. It’s a nasty game. Entertainment is one thing, but when it goes too far, like these instances… What kind of example are you setting to young fans around the world? Trash talk is great. I’m no prude. I’m not ‘woke’. There is just a line that you do not cross.
What we often see on top of this, is guys, like Colby Covington, talk a good game and not deliver. Colby, for an example, was dreadful against Leon Edwards. So all that smack talk, and for what?
Then, there is the other side of that coin. The side where Arnold Allen sits. Allen may be quiet. He may not talk a lot of smack, but he talks inside the octagon. As a British MMA fan, Arnold Allen is one of the guys you absolutely get behind. One you are absolutely rooting for. He is a role model for not just young British MMA fans / athletes, he is a role model to all.
Is This a Competitive Fight?
This is a tricky one to answer. On the one hand, Movsar Evloev is an extremely talented mixed martial artist. He is yet to taste defeat in his professional career, with this being his eighteenth pro fight. Evloev is 7-0 in the UFC, with all of those wins coming by way of a decision. Evloev is not the most exciting fighter on the roster, what he is though, is effective. He has a style which so far, has worked for him. As you look through the resume though, there isn’t too much there in the form of standout names.
With fights against Ilia Topuria and Bryce Mitchell falling off previously, we are yet to see Evloev face any of the featherweight elites. Dan Ige & Diego Lopes are Evloev’s standout victories to date, although, Ige, has had a rollercoaster up and down and in and out of the rankings, whilst Lopes was an unknown entity until his UFC debut against Evloev. A fight in which, despite Evloev having his hand raised, it was Lopes who left with his stock having risen.
In contrast once more, Arnold Allen has fought some of the divisions elite. Sodiq Yusuff, who was battering Edson Barboza before gassing and eventually losing. Dan Hooker, who was admittedly dropping down in weight, was smashed to bits by Arnold Allen. Calvin Kattar was having a nightmare with Allen before the injury halted the contest. Then of course, Arnold lost last time out against one of the greatest fighters the featherweight division has ever seen in Max Holloway.
Allen’s fight with Max was electric and Arnold was very competitive. He will have kicked himself after the final bell because he didn’t really take enough risks. He played Max’s game, as so many have before, and lost. The big difference for me here, is that Arnold Allen has been in there for five rounds against Holloway and he proved that he belongs at the top table. He just needs to believe in himself a bit more and he will no doubt have grown following his defeat to Max.
Arnold Allen Vs Movsar Evloev – Predictions
If you have bothered to read any of what I have written above, then you will know exactly where this is going. I’m backing Arnold Allen to get the job done here and I expect him to do it fairly comfortably. Yes, Evloev is undefeated and Allen is coming into this fight on the back of a loss but the caliber of opponents that these two have had is incomparable.
I haven’t seen enough from Evloev to show me that he belongs with the elite featherweights, of which for me, Arnold Allen is one. Evloev doesn’t have any finishes in the UFC and with Allen being so well rounded, this should allow him to take more risks to try and push on and finish the fight.
I believe that we see the best version of Arnold Allen that we have seen to date and I expect him to make light work of Evloev. Allen isn’t necessarily a huge finisher but he can absolutely bang and I do expect him to catch Evloev at some point in this fight.
What’s Next for the Winner?
A win here for Movsar Evloev will see him surge into the top five and will likely propel him into a title eliminator next. For Arnold Allen, a victory here genuinely could see him challenge for the title next.
With Ilia Topuria challenging Alexander Volkanovski for the title next and Max moving up (at least temporarily) to face Justin Gaethje, it leaves the door wide open for Arnold Allen. Yair Rodriguez will face Brian Ortega but Ortega hasn’t exactly been the most active fighter. Whilst Yair, only just lost to the current champion. The only way that I see Arnold Allen missing out on the title shot, should he be victorious of course, would be if Ilia Topuria were to defeat Volkanovski.
If that was to happen, you would expect that Volkanovski would get an immediate rematch and even if that wasn’t the case, a new champion would potentially insert Yair Rodriguez with another shot at the gold in the event he were to beat Ortega.
The result and method of the victories for both Arnold Allen and Yair Rodriguez in particular are huge and could have major title implications. First up, it’s up to Arnold Allen to bounce back from his defeat against Max and remind everyone why he deserves to be next.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
