The UFC’s featherweight division is the hardest pound-for-pound division in fight sports activities immediately. From undisputed champion Alexander Volkanovski to No. 15 Patricio Pitbull, the UFC’s 145-pound rankings are loaded with respectable world-class expertise from prime to backside.
On Saturday night time, we watched two of those ranked contenders play, and Arnold Allen, who sits proper in the course of the rankings at No. 7, proved there is a distinction between simply having a quantity subsequent to your identify and having the ability to compete with the most effective gamers on this planet at No. 145.
Allen is at the moment competing with No. 1 contender Movsar Evloev, who arguably gave him his hardest night time but. He shared the Octagon with Jean Silva and went head-to-head with the division’s greatest. And he additionally pushed Max Holloway, one of many biggest featherweight champions of all time, to the restrict in an exciting predominant occasion in Kansas Metropolis just a few years in the past. Merely put, Allen is a confirmed expertise on this division and nobody can simply compete towards him.
Allen proved as soon as once more that he’s an elite operator this previous weekend, defeating powerhouse Melquizael Costa in the principle occasion of UFC Vegas 117 at Meta APEX. The combat lasted till the top and Costa actually didn’t embarrass himself together with his efficiency. Nevertheless, the Brazilian was not ok for Allen, who proved too sturdy in all areas.
The truth that a fighter as versatile, gifted and skilled as Allen is ranked solely No. 7 in his weight class tells you all the pieces you have to know in regards to the 2026 featherweight division. It is Shark Tank, and whereas he is probably not the largest speaking level on this division, Allen is certainly one of many large fish of that group. I might like to see him face Diego Lopez there in some unspecified time in the future – this stylistic matchup would positively be a barn burner – however with Lopez dealing with Steve Garcia on the White Home, a matchup towards both Aljamain Sterling or Yair Rodriguez would make sense from a rankings standpoint.
Sterling has already defeated Brian Ortega and Youssef Zalal throughout the previous 12 months and, to be honest, he’s most likely eligible to combat opponents ranked above him, so he’ll most likely be taken off the desk. However the match between Allen and Rodriguez will possible be accompanied by fireworks and be the principle occasion of Battle Evening a little bit additional down the highway in Mexico or England.
MVP regarded like a reboot of Strikeforce, and I believe that is tremendous.
Nostalgia was within the air as Netflix hosted its first main MMA occasion on the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., marking MVP’s first foray into the world of reside combined martial arts.
All the presentation of the occasion, together with the hexagonal cage, was harking back to the previous Strikeforce promotions, which have been a West Coast mainstay within the early 2000s. Positive, this occasion felt like a Strikeforce reboot, however to be trustworthy, that wasn’t all that unhealthy.
I am an enormous fan of commentator Mauro Ranallo and thought he meshed nicely with Kenny Florian, who’s used to the colour commentary function for a few years. The general Netflix presentation was superb, however the one factor I wish to see improved is the general tempo of the occasion. If you must show a countdown clock on the display screen to let folks know when the subsequent combat is, which means the wait is already too lengthy.
It will likely be very attention-grabbing to see what MVP has plans for MMA going ahead. However on a busy night time of martial arts (I usually watched OKTAGON, Matchroom Boxing, UFC and MVP utilizing two screens) this was a welcome addition. Whereas they will not be taking over the UFC anytime quickly, there is definitely a possibility for MVP so as to add worth to the MMA world, and I hope they do. It is good to see extra alternatives for fighters to compete, shine, and receives a commission.
