Max Holloway seeks a much needed reset this Saturday in his UFC on ESPN bout against Arnold Allen.
One of the sport’s most explosive, entertaining and dangerous fighters, Holloway evokes immediate interest in his bouts. But there has been a bit of a hangover since last July, when he was absolutely demolished across five rounds by reigning featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.
That was the third meeting between Holloway and Volkanovski, with Volkanovski victorious in all three.
“It is what it is,” says Holloway. “I’ve been on the other side of those fights, and I hate when people make excuses. Nothing but love and respect to Alex. I needed a couple hours after that last fight, then it was back to work. Now there’s a hungry Arnold Allen in front of me, and I can’t wait to go out there and get the job done.”
Holloway—sporting a clean-shaven look that makes him look even younger than 31 (“my wife decided that,” he says, “and happy wife, happy life.”)—is all that stands between Allen and a shot at the featherweight belt. Allen (19–1) is vicious inside the cage, and he is riding a 12-fight win streak. If he defeats Holloway on Saturday, he will be next in line for a title shot against the winner of the upcoming bout pitting Volkanovski against interim champ Yair Rodríguez.
The future is less certain for Holloway (23–7). Despite winning 16 of his last 20 bouts, three of those losses were suffered against Volkanovski, who remains the cream of the crop in the division. A victory against Allen does not necessarily equate to an immediate title shot against Volkanovski, though that could change if he loses the title to Rodriguez in July or moves weight classes.
“We’ll see what happens,” says Holloway. “First thing first, I’ve got a tall task in front of me with Arnold Allen. He has that crazy win streak, he’s super athletic and he’s super hungry. I can’t overlook this guy. You start overlooking a guy, you fumble the bag. I’m not going to fumble the bag.”
Allen’s most recent victory came at the expense of Calvin Kattar, who sustained an ACL tear in their bout in October. Holloway manhandled Kattar in their fight in January 2021, but he has not been too keen on using footage from the Allen-Kattar bout to prepare for Saturday.
“It’s hard to use any of his fights,” says Holloway. “He fights like once a year—he always seems to get hurt, then comes back like a different fighter. I can go off some things he might do—I know he’s a very well-rounded mixed martial artist. There are a lot of questions going into this fight, and we’ll get the answers on Saturday.”
A win against Allen is a necessity for Holloway to reach the next step in his career. That destination remains unknown, but it could be a second run as featherweight champion or a return to lightweight, where he last fought in 2019 in a competitive loss against Dustin Poirier.
“Never say never about [going back to] lightweight,” says Holloway. “Dustin is ranked third, and the fight we had was a super fun, competitive fight. Alex competed with the champ at 55, and I’ve gone a lot of rounds with him. Those are some high-level mixed martial artists, and it shows we’re right there.”
There was even a possibility Holloway would line up across from Conor McGregor for the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter. That spot ultimately went to Michael Chandler.
“I mean, I can’t say too much,” says Holloway. “At the end of the day, I was ready for whatever. They went with Chandler, and I’m here.”
The fight Saturday is a chance for Holloway to rejuvenate his career, a restart after his humbling loss last summer to Volkanovski.
“I’m not done yet,” says Holloway. “I want the belt, and I want to set the record for title defenses. Goals at 55, too. There is a lot left for me to do.
“I’ve sacrificed a lot. My team sacrifices a lot for me, too. So it’s all or nothing out there on Saturday. This is going to be free on ESPN, and it’s going to be most violent. I can’t wait.”
Justin Barrasso can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.
