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John McCarthy has named a fighter who he believes could match up well with UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.
Right now the 145-pound division is in a state of limbo after Max Holloway had to pull out of his scheduled trilogy bout with Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 272. While 'The Korean Zombie' appears to be the man tasked with replacing him, nothing has been officially announced by the promotion as of this writing.
There are plenty of featherweights who are ready and willing to take that next step up in competition. However, according to John McCarthy, someone who should be taken seriously is Arnold Allen.
“You could put the guy that gets no respect, that people don’t even bring up, don’t eve think about - Arnold Allen. He’s a stud, that guy is a solid fighter everywhere. I think he would match up well with Volkanovski, he really would.”
McCarthy was speaking on the Weighing In podcast and added that Allen does his talking in the octagon:
“It’s part of his personality, it’s who he is, he’s not that talker, he’s not that guy that boasts - the son of a b**** can fight though.”
Watch John McCarthy discuss the featherweight division here:
Allen is riding a 10-fight win streak with his most recent victory, over Sodiq Yusuff, cementing his spot as a genuine contender in the eyes of many.
The recent history of Alexander Volkanovski
The idea that any featherweight could dethrone Alexander Volkanovski right now is a big one given how successful he's been since coming to the UFC. His most notable wins, over Max Holloway in their inaugural bout and the rematch, showcased just how good 'The Great' is and how he's able to switch his game up whenever necessary.
His latest outing saw Volkanovski defend the strap against Brian Ortega in a Fight of the Year contender, with the champion proving once and for all that he's one of the pound-for-pound best in the sport.
Now, it's up to Chan Sung Jung - seemingly - to put the cat amongst the pigeons.
