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The UFC’s latest Fight Night event went down in Kansas City last night, and overall, it turned out to be a good one.
UFC Fight Night: Max Holloway vs. Arnold Allen featured some strong fights, some excellent performances, and some breakout finishes, too.
Which fighters came out of the event looking the best, though? While 14 fighters picked up wins and five claimed $50k bonuses, some definitely did better than others.
Here are the five biggest winners from UFC Fight Night: Max Holloway vs. Arnold Allen.
#5. Ion Cutelaba – defeated Tanner Boser in a UFC light heavyweight bout
If any fighter in action last night had their back to the wall, it was light heavyweight veteran Ion Cutelaba.
‘The Hulk’ had lost his last three bouts in a row and had been finished in all of those losses. A defeat to Tanner Boser last night would almost certainly have meant the end of his seven-year run with the UFC.
However, Cutelaba unleashed his best showing in years, looking slightly more measured on the feet in the fight’s early going. That seemed to throw Boser off, and when ‘The Bulldozer’ left himself open, Cutelaba rocked him with a right hand, took him down, and destroyed him on the mat.
It was the Moldovan's first win since 2021 and his first finish since September 2019. While it won’t elevate him into title contention, it almost definitely saved his spot on the roster.
That alone makes him one of last night’s big winners. More importantly, as he isn’t yet 30, despite all the issues he’s had, the best may still be yet to come for ‘The Hulk’.
#4. Edson Barboza – defeated Billy Quarantillo in a UFC featherweight bout
The best finish on offer last night undoubtedly came from featherweight veteran Edson Barboza. Looking to rebound from two straight defeats, the Brazilian uncorked one of the best knockouts of his career, claiming a $50k bonus in the process.
Opponent Billy Quarantillo seemed to believe that aggression would be the best method of fighting Barboza, and he probably had a point. After all, Bryce Mitchell and Giga Chikadze both turned up the heat on the Brazilian and beat him.
Unfortunately, Quarantillo left himself far too open when he came forward, and midway through the first round, it cost him. As he ducked for a level change, Barboza timed a knee to the jaw to perfection, knocking him out instantly.
The knockout was reminiscent of Barboza’s classic finish of Beneil Dariush back in 2017, and it was a stark reminder that against lower-level opponents, the Brazilian remains dangerous.
Whether he can climb back into proper contention at the age of 37 is a bit of a question mark, but his performance last night definitely makes him one of the event’s big winners.
#3. Pedro Munhoz – defeated Chris Gutierrez in a UFC bantamweight bout
Last weekend at UFC 287, we saw the rise of one of the bantamweight division’s top prospects halted violently, as Rob Font stopped Adrian Yanez in a wild fight.
Pedro Munhoz’s win over Chris Gutierrez last night wasn’t quite as dramatic as Font’s knockout last weekend, but it essentially did the same thing. ‘El Guapo’ was hoping to break into the elite level at 135 pounds, and found the door closed firmly by one of the division’s best gatekeepers.
A big early knockdown set the tone for the fight with ‘The Young Punisher’ dropping Gutierrez with a left hand.
From there, ‘El Guapo’ simply couldn’t get a lot going, and Munhoz basically came out on top in all areas, taking a clear-cut unanimous decision when the fight went the distance.
Still ranked at No.9 in the division despite just one win in his past four fights prior to last night, this win could set Munhoz up for a big fight in the near future. If nothing else, it keeps his slim hopes of moving into title contention alive, making him one of last night’s bigger winners.
#2. Brandon Royval – defeated Matheus Nicolau in a UFC flyweight bout
While his fight was strangely buried on the preliminary card, it’s hard to call Brandon Royval anything but a huge winner after his victory last night.
‘Raw Dawg’ wasted no time in taking out the tough Matheus Nicolau, catching him with a picture-perfect knee to the jaw after just two minutes of their fight before smashing him on the ground.
Prior to this, Brazil’s Nicolau had not lost a fight since August 2018. Royval, though, made finishing him off look remarkably easy.
‘Raw Dawg’ is now 5-2 in the UFC, with his only losses coming to the two men who will face off for the flyweight title later this year – champ Brandon Moreno and top contender Alexandre Pantoja.
With this win, Royval should probably be in line to face the winner of that fight.
Quite clearly, he’s one of the best 125-pounders in the world, and while he deserved a bigger spotlight last night, he should still be seen as one of the event’s biggest winners.
#1. Max Holloway – defeated Arnold Allen in a UFC featherweight bout
The biggest winner at last night’s event was almost certainly Max Holloway. He produced another great showing in the headline bout, becoming the first man to defeat Arnold Allen in the UFC and snapping the UK-based fighter’s 10-fight promotional win streak in the process.
In reality, this was probably Holloway’s toughest non-Alexander Volkanovski fight in some time. Allen showed massive levels of aggression, caught ‘Blessed’ with some big shots, and seemed to stun him in the fifth round with a left hand.
However, Holloway’s remarkable chin still held up, and despite the best efforts of ‘Almighty’, the Brit was still unable to prevent the Hawaiian from popping him with quality punches before narrowly snaking his way out of range.
Holloway scored 147 significant strikes across the five rounds, marking the 11th fight in a row to see him land in triple figures. Remarkably, 'Blessed' has now scored 3122 significant strikes during his octagon tenure – over a thousand more than his closest competitor.
Will this win move him in line for a fourth crack at Volkanovski, as Holloway has suggested he’d like? It’s hard to say. He’s clearly the second-best 145-pounder on the planet, but whether fans really want to see ‘Blessed’ against ‘The Great’ again is debatable.
Either way, the Hawaiian is a truly great fighter, and while Allen should have no shame in his performance, he was well beaten last night by one of the all-time greats.
