This past Saturday at UFC 304, the main card was kicked off by a banger of a matchup in the featherweight division. Two of the more exciting contenders in the division went toe-to-toe as Arnold Allen (20-3) took on tenth ranked Giga Chikadze (15-4).
Both men really needed a win on Saturday night. For Chikadze, he was looking to win his second in a row which would get him right back into the title picture. Meanwhile Arnold Allen was looking to snap his two-fight losing streak after starting out 10-0 inside the octagon.
When the fight started, it was clear that Allen was going to fight with a ton of pressure. He knew it wasn’t smart to be on the outside with a kicking sniper like Chikadze. However, Chikadze’s speed was so insane in the first round that giant kicks were getting through preventing Allen from getting off a ton of offense. Allen had moments, but Chikadze took the first in my eyes.
In the second round, Chikadze started to fade a bit and Allen got his offense going. While Chikadze landed some good shots here and there, Allen landed at a much higher rate taking the second round. On my scorecard and all three judges scorecards, the fight was tied 1-1 entering the final round.
Chikadze was visibly tired and Allen never stopped coming forward. Allen landed huge shots throughout and never let go of control. It was a clear round for Allen and myself along with the three judges at UFC 304 gave Allen the decision win 29-28.
What’s next after UFC 304?
This was a huge win for Arnold Allen who couldn’t afford to lose a third fight in a row. Allen was so close to a title shot but then ran into Max Holloway at UFC Kansas City last April. Movsar Evloev is a tough fight for anyone, but nevertheless, the optics of a third straight defeat are not great.
Now that he’s back on track, what should be next for Arnold Allen? Allen is currently in a tie for fifth in the division with Movsar Evloev which is a little surprising considering he just lost to Evloev. However, in looking at the division, I think there are two potential fights out there for him.
I love the idea of Allen taking on Yair Rodriguez. We haven’t seen Rodriguez since his loss to Brian Ortega. This would be a really good fight for both guys with the winner going right into the title picture. However, there’s one fight that I think is even better than that one.
My favorite fight for the UFC and Arnold Allen is Josh Emmett. Emmett is ranked just behind Allen in the rankings and they are both coming off wins following a two-fight losing streak. It makes too much sense and who wouldn’t want to see this one. They were paired up once before but Emmett fell out due to injury. I think this is the fight to make.