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The UFC heads to Kansas City, Missouri this weekend for a rare Fight Night show on the road.
UFC Fight Night: Max Holloway vs. Arnold Allen features two major featherweight bouts at the top of the card, as well as a bunch of other fun-sounding clashes.
With some of these fights bound to throw up new title contenders, this is a show well worth watching.
Here are the predicted outcomes for UFC Fight Night: Max Holloway vs. Arnold Allen.
#1. UFC featherweight bout: Max Holloway vs. Arnold Allen
If any fighter could feel aggrieved with his treatment from the UFC right now, it’s probably Arnold Allen.
The UK-based featherweight contender is riding a remarkable ten-fight win streak dating back to his octagon debut in 2015. He also holds wins over the likes of Calvin Kattar, Dan Hooker, Gilbert Melendez, and Sodiq Yusuff.
Despite this, he was overlooked by the promotion in favor of Josh Emmett in a recent interim title bout. But he’s now been matched with arguably the toughest fighter in the division aside from champion Alexander Volkanovski.
Max Holloway has, of course, lost three times to Volkanovski since late 2019. But outside of those defeats, he’s walked through every other 145lber he’s faced since 2014.
‘Blessed’ holds wins over Yair Rodriguez, Kattar, Frankie Edgar, Brian Ortega, and Jose Aldo. He also possesses one of the best striking games in the entire UFC, with the ability to throw combinations at an almost unmatched volume.
Add in a ruthless killer instinct and a venomous submission game, and it’s fair to say that the Hawaiian is almost uniquely dangerous. Were it not for Volkanovski, he’d probably still be the champion.
Can ‘Almighty’ actually beat him, then? On paper at least, it seems like an almost impossible task.
Allen does have some great weapons in his own right. He trains under Firas Zahabi, and so naturally, he has an excellent striking game complete with a ramrod jab.
He’s also an underrated wrestler, and on the ground, he’s more than capable of snatching up submissions.
Essentially, outside of his lack of finishes over the years, he’s basically a fighter with no weaknesses. However, he’s probably still in trouble in this bout.
Holloway probably has the advantage striking, even if Allen hits very hard. Additionally, while ‘Almighty’ is an excellent grappler, ‘Blessed’ hasn’t been dominated on the ground for years.
The one x-factor could be the wear and tear that Holloway has suffered over the years. ‘Blessed’ is still only 31 years old, but he’s been in the promotion for well over a decade, and has been involved in 26 fights – some of them real wars. He also cuts a huge amount of weight to make 145 lbs.
If he’s suddenly gone past his best then Allen definitely has the skills to capitalize on that and beat him.
However, the smart pick here is clearly Holloway, probably by decision in an entertaining fight.
The Pick: Holloway via decision
#2. UFC featherweight bout: Edson Barboza vs. Billy Quarantillo
This weekend’s co-main event will also take place in the featherweight division. While it doesn’t have the title implications of the headliner, it should still be entertaining.
Of the two fighters involved, Edson Barboza is obviously the more well-known quantity. ‘Junior’ has been on the UFC’s roster since 2010. While he’s never fought for a title, he’s come very close at times and has been in the octagon with some of the very best.
However, the Brazilian has been on a slide as of late. It’s probably fair to draw a line across his career from the moment he suffered a bad beating at the hands of Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2017.
Since then, Barboza has won just three fights while losing six. Despite having only been stopped twice in that sequence, he still looks slower and more vulnerable than he once did.
Whether Billy Quarantillo can capitalize on that this weekend, though, is a very fair question. The TUF 22 veteran is currently 5-2 in the octagon and is coming off the biggest win of his career, a stoppage over Alexander Hernandez in December.
Quarantillo is, essentially, a jack-of-all-trades type. He holds 17 wins on his overall ledger, with eight coming via KO and five via submission. For the most part, in the octagon, he’s either stopped his foes or lost decisions – meaning he’s been exciting to watch.
The New York native would probably be best advised to look to use his ground game against Barboza, particularly as ‘Junior’ has never dealt well with fighters capable of keeping him down.
However, whether Quarantillo is capable of that is a fair question. He’s never been the strongest wrestler and only holds a takedown accuracy score of 24%.
On the feet, while he’s capable of scoring big shots, he just doesn’t have the same kind of dynamism as Barboza. The Brazilian’s leg kicks are almost legendary at this point, and he’s more than capable of beating an opponent down with his fists, too.
Essentially, while ‘Junior’ has lost some fights recently, he’s only lost to high-level opponents and ones who were a tougher skill match for him than Quarantillo. Therefore, it’s hard to pick against the veteran in this one.
The Pick: Barboza via second-round TKO
#3. UFC Fight Night: The Main Card
In a light-heavyweight bout, kickboxer Dustin Jacoby takes on Azamat Murzakanov. While Jacoby should have an advantage in the striking department from a technical standpoint, Murzakanov has proven himself to be both dangerous and explosive, and he has two KO wins in the UFC to this point.
Overall, this is a tricky one to call. However, Murzakanov’s wild nature could play into Jacoby’s hands, and so the pick is ‘The Hanyak’ via TKO.
In another fight at 205 lbs, Ion Cutelaba faces Tanner Boser. This will be Boser’s first fight at light-heavyweight, something that didn’t seem likely when he first entered the octagon back in 2019.
Since then, though, not only has ‘The Bulldozer’ gotten into much better shape, he’s improved his skills too. He hits hard, has remarkably quick hands for a big man, and is durable as well.
Cutelaba remains dangerous purely because of his aggression, but ‘The Hulk’ has been exposed at times. He’s a strong wrestler and hits hard, but his durability isn’t great and he runs out of steam pretty quickly, too.
The Moldovan fighter could win this one in a rush, but the smarter pick feels like Boser via TKO.
In an excellent bantamweight bout, Pedro Munhoz faces Chris Gutierrez. After running through most of his opponents and going on an eight-fight unbeaten streak, this is the big test for Gutierrez. If ‘El Guapo’ can beat Munhoz, then he should be considered a genuine title contender.
There’s no doubt that ‘The Young Punisher’ should test him heavily, as he has dangerous skills in all areas. The Brazilian, however, is beginning to slow down – despite his nickname, he’s 36 – and has only won once in his last six bouts.
Munhoz should still be able to make this a difficult fight for Gutierrez, but it’s hard to pick against the younger man. The pick is ‘El Guapo’ via decision.
Finally, old-school veteran Clay Guida squares off with Rafa Garcia in a lightweight tilt. It’s hard to believe Guida, who debuted in the octagon in 2006, is still around, and yet his last fight saw him outpoint Scott Holtzman.
Essentially, he’s the same fighter he’s always been – all wild energy, relentless takedowns and pressure, and he's dangerous with submissions.
Garcia isn’t a bad fighter in his own right, but even though he’s got three octagon wins to his name, nothing he’s done really stands out. Given ‘The Carpenter’ has still only lost to well-known quantities in recent years, the pick is Guida via decision.
#4. UFC Fight Night: The Prelims
Picks in bold
UFC featherweight bout: Bill Algeo vs. TJ Brown
UFC flyweight bout: Brandon Royval vs. Matheus Nicolau
UFC light-heavyweight bout: Zak Cummings vs. Ed Herman
UFC strawweight bout: Gillian Robertson vs. Piera Rodriguez
UFC lightweight bout: Lando Vannata vs. Daniel Zellhuber
UFC strawweight bout: Bruna Brasil vs. Denise Gomes
UFC bantamweight bout: Aaron Phillips vs. Gaston Bolanos
UFC bantamweight bout: Joselyne Edwards vs. Lucie Pudilova
