A big featherweight fight is being finalized for the final UFC event in the month of October.
Contenders Arnold Allen and Calvin Kattar have verbally agreed to fight Oct. 29 at a UFC Fight Night event expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Bout contracts haven’t been issued yet but are expected to be sent out and signed in the coming days.
Two people with knowledge of the targeted booking recently informed MMA Junkie of the matchup but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. ESPN first reported the news Wednesday.
The bout will go head-to-head with the boxing match between former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and YouTuber Jake Paul, which takes place the same night, in Phoenix.
Allen (18-1 MMA, 9-0 UFC) rides high after a March starching of Dan Hooker in London. Allen finished Hooker in 2:33 via TKO and called for a potential fight against Kattar. Still yet to lose in the UFC, Allen’s biggest opponent has been the injury bug – with multiple roadblocks in recent years. Despite this, Allen has racked up 11 wins in a row.
Meanwhile, Kattar (23-6 MMA, 7-4 UFC) is coming off a controversial June decision loss to Josh Emmett in Austin, Texas. Many fans and media members scored the fight for Kattar, who ultimately lost on split scorecards. Kattar is 3-2 in his five most recent bouts including a dominant win over Giga Chikadze in January.
With the addition, the Oct. 29 lineup includes:
- Arnold Allen vs. Calvin Kattar
- Edson Barboza vs. Ilia Topuria
- Andrei Arlovski vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima
- Dustin Jacoby vs. Khalil Rountree
- Roman Dolidze vs. Phil Hawes
- Max Griffin vs. Tim Means
- Steve Garcia vs. Chase Hooper
- Joseph Holmes vs. Jun Yong Park
- Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Jared Vanderaa
- Garrett Armfield vs. Christian Rodriguez
- Josh Fremd vs. Tresean Gore
- Cody Durden vs. Kleydson Rodrigues
