Kicking off the PPV main card of UFC 304 is an absolute banger in the featherweight division. Top ten contenders will battle it out as “Almighty” Arnold Allen (19-3) fights in front of his home country as he takes on tenth ranked Giga Chikadze (15-3).
Starting with Chikadze, this is his first fight in about a year and just his second fight since January 2022. After starting his UFC career 7-0, Chikadze was knocking on the door of a title shot. Then, he was absolutely obliterated by Calvin Kattar which forced him to take a lot of time off. He did win in his return against Alex Caceres last August, but he didn’t look as explosive as he did before the layoff. He needs a big win tomorrow night just like his opponent.
Arnold Allen made his UFC debut back in 2015 and he won his first ten fights including a win over Calvin Kattar and a destruction of Dan Hooker in London. Those ten wins led him to a fight against former champion Max Holloway in April 2023. Allen put up a good fight, but he ultimately lost a decision. He returned back in January and lost a decision to the unbeaten Movsar Evloev. He’s still ranked sixth in the division, but he really needs a win tomorrow night.
UFC 304 Prediction
When Giga Chikadze was making his way towards a UFC title shot, it was his pinpoint accuracy and aggressiveness that led him there. After starting more tentative early on in his career inside the octagon, he really turned things up towards the end of that winning streak. The Alex Caceres fight saw him return to those more tentative roots.
He cannot fight that way against Arnold Allen. Allen fights with a ton of movement and he’s great at mixing up his attacks. Chikadze is going to try and stay on the outside and use his kicks, but I’m expecting Allen to never let him get comfortable. Allen needs to make this a dog fight and I think he’ll do that.
The fighter with more urgency is going to win this fight and that’s going to be Arnold Allen. I wouldn’t be surprised by a late stoppage at UFC 304, but I think we see a decision here with Allen winning comfortably.
Prediction: Arnold Allen by Decision