Max Holloway will headline a UFC Fight Night against Arnold Allen on April 15th, according to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto. No location has been announced as of yet, but it has been confirmed the event will not be held at the UFC’s Apex facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Max Holloway will return to the Octagon against Arnold Allen in April, multiple sources have told @bokamotoespn.
Both sides have agreed to the 145-pound featherweight matchup, which is expected to headline UFC Fight Night. pic.twitter.com/VkJhXiZobW
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) January 31, 2023
Holloway and Allen were originally scheduled to face each other in the co-headline of the upcoming UFC 286 event in London this March, but the fight was pushed back due to an injury. It’s unclear if this bout would’ve been for the interim featherweight title Josh Emmett and Yair Rodriguez will compete for on the same event.
Holloway, who held the featherweight title for over two years, has been out of the cage since his defeat to Alexander Volkanovski last summer. Now having been beaten three times by the current champion, Holloway will have to get through the other top contenders to earn a third chance to win back the belt. He has already seen off Yair Rodriguez last year, and a win over Allen would maintain his position as the division’s number two.
Arnold Allen’s last outing in October 2022 saw him stop Calvin Kattar when an awkward landing from a jumping kick caused the latter’s knee to give way. Allen now rides a twelve-fight win streak that not only spans his entire UFC tenure, but dates back almost a decade to August 2014. Prior to the announcement of UFC 286’s interim title fight, Allen was a front-runner to be the next challenger at featherweight.
🚨| UFC is finalizing Max Holloway vs. Arnold Allen to headline a Fight Night on April 15 👊 pic.twitter.com/1nyCja6M64
— Combat Sports Today💥 (@CSTodayNews) January 31, 2023
The winner of this fight will have some waiting to do before they can get their hands on a championship, however. Alexander Volkanovski is to fight against Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title, and will have an interim champion to deal with on his return to 145 pounds. If Allen can secure a victory here, he will likely have to wait until 2024 to get his opportunity. And if Holloway gets it done, he can expect to be booked against another challenger to solidify his claim.
The event on April 15th already features fan-favorite talent at 145 pounds with Edson Barboza taking on Billy Quarantillo, and Bill Algeo facing T.J. Brown. Elsewhere on the card, Pedro Munhoz will fight Chris Gutiérrez, and heavyweights Martin Buday and Jake Collier will proceed the main event.
