UFC Kansas City Main Event Breakdown

Saturday’s card occurs six years to the day after that main event. Although no championship will be available at featherweight during the UFC Kansas City main event this time around, the No. 1 spot is at stake for the winner.

Top-Five Featherweights Do Battle Saturday Night in UFC Kansas City Main Event

After the UFC Kansas City co-main event pits No. 14 contender Edson Barboza (22-11 MMA, 16-11 UFC) with unranked Billy Quarantillo (17-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) in a featherweight contest, the action stays at 145 lbs. for the UFC Kansas City main event. Both of the contestants in this fight are in the hunt for the UFC Featherweight Championship.

No. 2 contender Max Holloway (23-7 MMA, 19-7 UFC) takes on No. 4 contender Arnold Allen (19-1 MMA, 10-0 UFC). As with all UFC main events, Saturday’s headliner is an advertised maximum of five rounds at five minutes per round to close the show.

UFC Kansas City Main Event Fighter Comparison and Betting Odds

Heading into the UFC Kansas City main event on Saturday evening, Max Holloway stands as the taller combatant at 5-foot-11, compared to the 5-foot-8 frame of Arnold Allen. In addition, Allen owns a 1-inch reach advantage (70 inches to 69 inches) over Holloway, who owns a three-inch leg reach advantage (42 inches to 39 inches) over Allen.

As of early Wednesday afternoon, the oddsmakers have Max Holloway installed as a -185 favorite, with Arnold Allen countering as a +155 underdog. If you plan on betting on this or any other fight happening this weekend, please wager responsibly.

Max Holloway Looking to Rebound in UFC Kansas City Main Event

Max Holloway enters the UFC Kansas City main event on Saturday night having posted a record of 2-3 in his last five fights, losing most recently to Alexander Volkanovski (25-2 MMA, 12-1 UFC) during the July 2 UFC 276 co-main event for the championship.

Recently, Holloway was interviewed by ESPN‘s Brett Okamoto. In the interview, Holloway discussed his adversary this week, Arnold Allen.

“I think he’s good, bro,” Holloway began. “Like I told you, anybody, to be sharing the Octagon with me at this point in my career, they’ve got to be great. They’ve got to be good to get there, to put themselves in the position to be fighting among the top five guys in the world, you’ve got to be great. I think he’s great as a competitor. I think he’s a great, athletic dude, super-good dude. I just can’t wait. He excites me.”

The time for pleasantries from Max Holloway to Arnold Allen is over. Can he become the first fighter to defeat this tough opponent since joining the promotion in the UFC Kansas City main event? Tune into ESPN and find out.

Arnold Allen Seeking an 11-0 Start in the UFC

In the other corner, Arnold Allen has yet to lose in the UFC, going 5-0 in his last five bouts and 10-0 since joining the promotion. All told he’s won 12 fights in succession dating back to his run in Cage Warriors.

Back in October of last year, Allen won his 10th consecutive bout under the UFC banner (second-round TKO: knee injury) against Calvin Kattar (23-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) in UFC Vegas 63’s main event. A few weeks ago, he partook in media availability at UFC 286, and he’s ready to take on Holloway.

“I feel the same, you know, it’s halfway through camp, we’ve got about three more weeks to push,” Allen said at the time. “Body feels like (expletive deleted). It’s pretty standard, so, it’s normal: You work hard and push through. Things hurt, but that means we’re doing everything right. Mentally, I feel fantastic. It’s an opportunity of a lifetime. It’s a very dangerous guy who’s beaten a lot of top contenders and he’s beaten them very well.”

With a win here on Saturday night, it would mark Arnold Allen’s 13th straight win in MMA. The number 13 is lucky for some people and a curse for others. It’d be very lucky for him as he’d get to continue his pursuit of the championship after the UFC Kansas City main event.

Analysis, Film Study, and Prediction

Stylistically, the UFC Kansas City main event on Saturday night is a dead heat. Both Max Holloway and Arnold Allen own brown belts in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, with Arnold Allen having a kickboxing background.

Max Holloway Can Land Punches in Bunches

Max Holloway has been known to wear his opponents down throughout the fight, that much is certain. At the same time, though, he’s also gone for the knockout, as was illustrated during his 2014 fight against Akira Corassani.

During the opening round of the fight, Holloway landed a kick to the body, but Corassani landed a two-punch combination. The latter continued to piece up the former with punches a few moments later. As the round progressed, Holloway slowed down the pace of the fight.

With under two and a half minutes to go, Holloway landed a two-punch combination to knock down Corassani. Smelling blood in the water, he landed a barrage of strikes against the cage fence.

While Corassani put Holloway in the clinch, it wasn’t nearly enough, with the latter ending the contest thanks to a series of punches. If Holloway comes out throwing bombs, he can end the UFC Kansas City main event in a hurry.

Arnold Allen Can End UFC Kansas City Main Event Just as Quickly

In the other corner, look for a quick fight from Arnold Allen in the UFC Kansas City main event, as was the case in Cage Warriors against Tobias Huber.

Round one ended almost as abruptly as it began. Allen scored with a straight left-handed punch and then just teed off with a barrage of shots to send Huber down, leaving his opponent no choice but to drag himself across the mat with Allen’s foot to stay in the fight.

This proved inconsequential in the grand scheme, with Allen continuing the ground and pound shots before the referee ended the fight in just 37 seconds. If Allen can land a flurry of punches right from the beginning, the UFC Kansas City main event will be over before you can open up that can of cola.

Final Thoughts

The UFC’s got another blockbuster fight on its hands on Saturday night in Kansas City. Whoever wins deserves a title shot against Volkanovski down the road.

Prediction: Arnold Allen by Unanimous Decision.

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