Arnold Allen has laughed off Max Holloway's claim of being the "best boxer in the UFC" but recognises his rival is the toughest challenge of his career.
Allen, 29, looks to push himself one step closer to a featherweight title shot when he faces former champion Holloway on April 15. 'Almighty' is unbeaten since signing for the UFC in 2015 and beat top contenders Calvin Kattar and Dan Hooker last year. The Brit was forced to turn down a fight on the upcoming London card in March due to a hand injury but will headline the Kansas City event against Holloway in April.
Holloway proclaimed he was "the best boxer" in the UFC whilst beating up Kattar in their one-sided fight two years ago, but Allen isn't so sure about his opponent's bold claim. "No, I don't think he is [the best boxer in the UFC]. Volkanovski outboxed him pretty well in the last fight, so is Volkanovski now the best boxer in the UFC?" Allen told Mirror Fighting.
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Holloway has lost three times to Volkanovski in the UFC and Allen fans have forgotten just how good his opponent is because of his recent losses. "People are already sending me messages like 'you're going to smash him easily', I don't know about that as it's going to be a tough fight," Allen said.
"He's the guy to beat and you can't even say he's the gatekeeper as he's beaten all the guys at the gate other than the champion. If you want to call yourself the champion of this division and you haven't got a win over Max Holloway, do you really deserve it? You need to beat this guy if you want to be the champion."
Featherweight champion Volkanovski lost out to Islam Makhachev this past weekend in his bid to become a double-champ, so the Australian will likely return to 145lb for his next fight to face interim titleholder Yair Rodriguez. Allen is hoping a decisive win against Holloway can set him up with a title fight against either Volkanovski or Rodriguez.
"It's a stand-up fight really, as we are both stand-up fighters so that's where I think I'm going to win. I train for everything but that's my favourite aspect. There is nothing more decisive than getting a legit finish over someone so that is it, just to win decisively. I don't want to leave any doubt or questions, so hopefully no freak injuries again in that sense," he added.
