Max Holloway vs. Arnold Allen UFC Kansas City Fight Video Part 1
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The UFC will host a 14-fight card at T-Mobile Center in Missouri on Saturday in Kansas City, featuring an elimination match between No. Max Holloway, a former champion and second-ranked contender, and No. 4th place overall for Arnold Allen.

Holloway is coming back from his loss to Alexander Volkanovski in June 2022, which was the most resounding defeat in their trilogy and ended the rivalry. Holloway didn't appear to have regressed as much as Volkanovski is still making progress. However, unless the champion permanently switches to lightweight, Hollway is now demoted to a high-level gatekeeper position.

Allen, who many believed should have competed for an interim title in place of Yair Rodriguez, is currently 10-1 in the UFC, but he hasn't yet reached the 15-minute mark in his professional career, and Holloway anticipates testing Allen's's cardio more thoroughly than any previous opponent.

Despite the fact that this is Allen's's second straight main event and I have a good feeling he'll'll perform at his best cardio after all that preparation( regardless of how the Calvin Kattar fight went), Holloway will make it his 12th straight five-round bout on Saturday.

The main event for UFC Kansas City, Holloway vs. Allen, which airs exclusively on ESPN( 5:30 p. m. ET) with a simulcast stream of ESPN+, will be bet on using the analysis and projections I've've provided below.

At the UFC Apex in October, Allen's's first main event matchup with Kattar ended earlier than expected because the latter tore his knee in the second round.

In that fight, I placed bets on Kattar in a number of ways, including on the moneyline(+ 100) and inside the distance(+ 340), and I advised doing so live after Rounds 2 and 3.

Holloway poses many of the same issues, and he will make Allen respond to the inquiries that I anticipated Kattar would make of Allen over the course of a 25-minute fight. The best minute-winner on the feet, Holloway has some of the best cardio in the history of combat sports. He is also incredibly durable.

Although Allen has good cardio, he has never faced a fighter who moves at an especially fast pace, and despite his lack of experience, Allen is unwilling to push the issue. In almost every round, Holloway should double him in volume.

Allen should have his best success very soon, in my opinion. He strikes very forcefully, plays defensively carefully, and performs admirably off the counter. Because Holloway is highly hittable and we know he is durable, I anticipate Allen will find ways to hurt the former champion early in this fight.

Holloway is 0– 3 against Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor, both southpaws like Allen, despite the fact that his losses have been to former champions. Additionally, the Englishman appears to be consistently underappreciated in the betting industry. Even if "Almighty" hits lands a foot sweep, I doubt he can keep Holloway on his back. He hits harder and has the grappling upside.

In order to get ready for the Volkanovski rematch, Holloway put a lot of effort into honing his wrestling and grappling. In his victory over Yair Rodriguez, "Blessed" showed off his grappling prowess( he scored three out of five takedowns and had 6:49 of control time), and I anticipate the match will be fairly even. However, it will eventually cause Allen's's gas tank to deteriorate more quickly.

Before Holloway finally withdraws, I anticipate seeing a close and competitive fight for at least the first ten minutes. In these major events, Holloway and other emerging contenders have typically experienced this( most notably his victories over Kattar, Rodriguez, and Brian Ortega).

On Saturday, I anticipate Allen will suffer a similar fate. This seems like a level fight to me. As much as I like Allen, I believe Volkanovski, Holloway, and the other members of the 145-pound division are separated.