Former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway has his return on the horizon in another huge matchup.
Surging featherweight contender Arnold Allen will get his first crack at a former UFC champion in a headlining bout against Holloway on April 15. Holloway (23-7 MMA, 19-7 UFC) currently holds the No. 3 spot in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie featherweight rankings, with Allen (19-1 MMA, 10-0 UFC) on his heels at No. 6.
Following a first report of the matchup from ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, two sources familiar with the pairing told MMA Junkie that both sides have verbally agreed to the bout, although contracts have not yet been issued. The UFC Fight Night event does not yet have a confirmed location or venue.
Holloway, 31, will look to rebound from a title challenge loss to Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 276 in July. Prior to the setback, the former featherweight king picked up two straight Fight of the Night unanimous decision wins over Yair Rodriguez and Calvin Kattar.
Allen, 29, has just one professional loss in his career, which came in 2014. Since then, he has ripped through the competition to win 12 straight fights, which includes an undefeated UFC run of 10 wins. After back-to-back co-main victories over Sodiqu Yusuff and Dan Hooker, Allen headlined his first UFC event against Calvin Kattar at UFC Fight Night 213, a bout he won by TKO in the second round.
With the addition, the lineup for the April 15 UFC Fight Night event includes:
- Max Holloway vs. Arnold Allen
- Edson Barboza vs. Billy Quarantillo
- Chris Gutierrez vs. Pedro Munhoz
- Dustin Jacoby vs. Azamat Murzakanov
- Bill Algeo vs. TJ Brown
- Bruna Brasil vs. Denise Gomes
- Martin Buday vs. Jake Collier
- Gillian Robertson vs. Piera Rodriguez
- Lando Vannata vs. Daniel Zellhuber
- Danaa Batgerel vs. Brady Hiestand
