Max Holloway Breaks Record, Picks Apart Arnold Allen at UFC Kansas City

Timothy James

April 15, 2023

The “Blessed” Express keeps rolling – this time, through Kansas City, MO. Max Holloway showed why he’s still the cream of the crop in the featherweight division – handing surging British contender Arnold Allen his first loss in the UFC.

It was a historic night for the Hawaiian legend – becoming the first UFC fighter in history to surpass 3,000 significant strikes. Even more impressive is the fact that Holloway – a former champion and considered to be one of the greatest featherweights ever – is only 31 years old.

Arnold Allen had his moments – but he couldn’t find an answer to Holloway’s distance management. He entered the fifth round knowing he was behind on the scorecards – with coach Firas Zahabi telling him that he needed to swing for the fences.

The fifth was Allen’s best round, but it was too little, too late. Holloway took home a unanimous decision victory, 49-46, 49-46, 48-47. Allen hunted for the knockout – but actually got knocked down in the final second of the fight.

The question on everyone’s mind is…what’s next for Holloway? He’s already fought everyone in the top 5 at featherweight except for #5 Josh Emmett, who is slated to fight Ilia Topuria in June. In fact, there’s only one man in the top 10 of the division who has beaten Max – champion Alexander Volkanovski.

Volkanovski is expected to defend his featherweight title against interim champion Yair Rodriguez – currently being targeted for UFC 290 in July. Although Volk has beaten Max three times already, many fans have speculated that Holloway should get the winner of that fight.

Whether or not that happens – Volkanovski was impressed with Holloway’s performance. He congratulated his rival for his UFC Kansas City performance. For what it’s worth, Yair Rodriguez lost to Holloway back in November, 2021.