Volume was the name of the game for Max Holloway on Saturday night, like it's been through much of his career. Holloway outstruck Arnold Allen over the course of five rounds at UFC Fight Night and leaves Kansas City with another win on his record.
Holloway has not lost a non-title fight since falling short to Conor McGregor in 2013. Saturday was no different. Allen was certainly game and arguably landed the harder shots overall, but the sheer quantity of Holloway's punches over 25 minutes was impossible for the judges to ignore.
25 minutes done!
— UFC (@ufc) April 16, 2023
Decision between these two up next at #UFCKansasCity pic.twitter.com/F3njurxsxc
Allen's coach Firas Zahabi demanded a stoppage between rounds four and five, knowing that his fighter was likely down on the scorecards.
"World War 3?" Allen asked.
"World War 3," Zahabi replied.
The Englishman obliged, upping the pace and volleying head kicks at his Hawaiian foe. Holloway's experience and ring generalship were ultimately too much in the grandest battle of Allen's career. A knockdown in the final second of the fight sealed the deal for Holloway. The judges scored the fight 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47 all in favor of the former UFC featherweight champion Holloway.
"Kansas, I love you guys. I love everybody, but please. When this man, [Allen], this freakin' beast of a man right here takes the microphone, please let's not boo the man. Let's cheer for him. He's a warrior. It takes two to dance and he did it," Holloway said during his post-fight interview with UFC commentator Daniel Cormier.
Max Holloway is an absolute class act 🙌 #UFCKansasCity pic.twitter.com/2bHQpXn5fn
— UFC (@ufc) April 16, 2023
Allen, for his part, expressed his admiration for Holloway in the aftermath of their fight.
Holloway cleared 3,000 total significant strikes in the UFC, extending his lead over the roster. For context, second place is Frankie Edgar with 1,801 and three of the top five have retired. Holloway also further separated himself for most total strikes landed in UFC, adding to the 3,217 total strikes he had going in. He is ahead of Georges St-Pierre (No. 2), Nate Diaz (No. 3) and Edgar (No. 4), none of whom are active UFC fighters.
Holloway's future is unclear. It is hard to justify a title shot following three losses to UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, particularly because the third fight was by far his most decisive loss. A path could clear for Holloway if interim champion Yair Rodriguez, who Holloway beat in November 2021, unifies the titles at UFC 290 on July 8. Allen must now recover from his first UFC loss. Allen entered Fight Night as one of only 15 fighters in UFC history to notch 10 consecutive wins.