MMA
UFC 324: Arnold Allen feels facing winner of UFC 325 title fight is in his grasp for 2026
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The first UFC event of 2026 is on Saturday night from Las Vegas as the UFC 324 main event will feature an interim lightweight title fight between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett live on DAZN PPV (9pm ET, Canada only).
But a key matchup with title implications kicks off the main card as No. 6-ranked Arnold Allen takes on No. 10-ranked Jean Silva in featherweight action. Next weekend at UFC 325, 145-pound kingpin Alexander Volkanovski meets Diego Lopes in a rematch from UFC 314 in which the Australian regained the gold. When that fight was announced, many were highly critical because the first go-around wasn't competitive, and there are other viable contenders like Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy.
Allen has a different take. He feels like there was no clear-cut contender with the UFC not wanting to give Evloev and Lopes taking a fight with Silva back in September.
"I understand why they (UFC) didn't give Lerone the shot because maybe (Aaron) Pico (Murphy's last opponent), he's not established in the UFC," Allen tells DAZN News. "Everyone in MMA knows he's very good people train. We all know he is very good, but he's not established in the UFC, so does a win over a guy that's not even proven in the division give you a title shot? With Movsar, it made sense because they didn't want to give him a title shot, so they were going to keep giving him extra objectives until he failed, and hopefully didn't get the title shot. I guess they felt there was no clear contender with Diego having a fairly close fight with him last time. He dropped him (Volkanovski). He hurt him. Then he took a risky fight against a lower-ranked opponent, and he did them a favor. So I'm sure they did him a favor."
In terms of who wins the UFC 325 main event, Allen is unsure, as he says the fight will come down to Volkanovski.
"I don't know," Allen said when asked for a prediction. "I feel like I see it looking a lot like the first fight. It just depends on Volk. It just depends on how he's aging, how he's feeling, how his body is. Diego's in his prime. He's been there a long time. He's been through the back-to-back knockout losses. He's been dropped. He's been hurt. He's been through the ringer.
"How hungry is he (Volkanovski)? He's done it all."
Despite reports saying UFC 325 is it for Volkanovski, the Australian has said he will continue for the foreseeable future. The UFC doesn't put title fights and top contender bouts on the same card or right up against each other for the heck of it. There's always a rhyme to the reason. Allen (20-3) understands that and knows if he takes care of business at UFC 324 and Volkanovski beats Lopes again, the stars align for a title fight this calendar year.
"Absolutely," Allen affirmatively said about a possible title fight next. "He's the featherweight goat, right? That's the goal."
