Lest there was any doubt remaining, there should be no more: Arnold Allen is a legit up-and-comer in the UFC featherweight division.
The 25-year-old from Suffolk, England competed on his home turf Saturday and was victorious at UFC London. Allen was rarely threatened as he cruised to a unanimous-decision victory over Jordan Rinaldi in the featured prelim bout at 02 Arena. The judges scores were 30-26, 30-27, and 29-28.
With the victory, Allen (14-1) has now won seven straight bouts, including all five in the UFC.
The path of this fight was straightforward for the better part of 15 minutes: Allen pushed the pace, parried Rinaldi’s attempts as implementing his wrestling game, and while he never came close to finishing the fight, his offensive flurries were more than enough to convince the judges.