An Interview With UFC Star Arnold Allen

An Interview With UFC Star Arnold Allen

By Ben Jessop

Ahead of the much-anticipated Fight Night 147, taking place in London, UK on March 16, I spoke with one of the UK’s most promising prospects in the UFC – Arnold ‘Almighty’ Allen.

Hailing from a small countryside town in the Southeast of England, Allen began his ascent to the UFC by successfully putting away opponent after opponent. His career started fighting as an amateur in the ECFF (East Coast Fight Factory) where he put three rivals away, two via submission and one via KO all in the first round, within two years.

Needless to say, Arnold then began his professional fighting career. Allen faced off against Nathan Greyson in April 2012, in which he secured a 2nd round KO. His performances began talking for themselves as he put away another six opponents back to back and by this point was well underway making a name for himself in the Cage Warriors Fighting Championship.

Allen was handed his first loss against Marcin Wrzosek CWFC 71 in August 2014 via unanimous decision but quickly bounced back, putting another two W’s on the record within three months. Allen made his UFC debut in June of 2015, facing off against Alan Omer to win via a third round guillotine choke, and to also be awarded the Performance of the Night”. Allen continued to add wins to his résumé, beating Yaotzin Meza, Makwan Amirkhani and most recently, Mads Burnell.

This time round, Allen will be facing Jordan ‘All Day’ Rinaldi across the octagon in what could be the most pivotal fight in his career.

Allen will be looking retain his flawless UFC record (Currently 4-0) whilst Rinaldi will be looking to kick-start a win streak, coming from the loss against Gregor Gillespie, and then his latest win against Jason Knight via unanimous decision.

Mads Burnell offered Allen a handful of new challenges in his last bout back in May 2018 and was without doubt one of his toughest fights to date, I asked Allen what having a fight of that calibre taught him:

Your last fight against Mads Burnell was won via a front choke as you managed to take the opportunity in the third round. The fight offered its own set of challenges that you managed to overcome. What did this fight teach you?

“It was a great learning experience for me, I learnt that I have the heart to dig deep and pull out a win if needed.”

Having learnt the lessons from beating Burnell, Allen was confident fighting upwards and now faces a serious challenger in Rinaldi, I asked Allen what he thought a win against someone like Rinaldi would do for him:

You’re fighting a big name in Jordan Rinaldi, who has fought the likes of Gregor Gillespie, albeit he lost. What do you hope a win against Rinaldi will do for you?

“He’s a tough test and I’m confident of a victory here will shoot me up the rankings.”

Arnold Allen has one of the best gyms on the planet in his corner, training out of Tristar Gym, headed by one of the world’s best in Firas Zahabi. I asked Allen what he’d been doing in preparation for this next fight:

What preparations have you made or are looking to make before you face Rinaldi in the octagon?

“Just the usual sharpening everything up and making sure my fitness if where it needs to be, also, less KFC.”

Having an unbeaten UFC records is something not many fighters have the privilege to brag about but reaching 5-0 brings a different sort of attention to a fighter. I asked Allen what he hoped winning here would do for him:

You’re currently on an unbeaten four fight win streak within the UFC, beating Rinaldi makes it five which has a sweet ring to it. If you secure the win in March, what’s next? Who’s in your sights?

“I’ll be looking to get busier and get my arse into the top fifteen, but I’m not looking passed the test in front of me.”

Along with the privilege of bragging about an unbeaten record, an inevitable pressure comes along with this accolade. I asked Allen if he noticed, or felt the pressure become more prevalent with every win:

Do you feel any added pressure because of your unbeaten UFC record? And does that pressure become more prevalent with every win you get?

“For sure, the closer you get to your goals, the more pressure there is.”

Arnold Allen is known for being a well-rounded fighter, being more than capable on his feet as well as on the ground. His record shows two wins via decision and two via submission. I asked what sort of finish Allen would be looking for this time around:

Out of your four wins in the UFC, you’ve secured two wins via submission and two via decision. What sort of finish are you going to be looking for this time around?

“I still think one of those was a KO but I can’t have it all. I’d like to get one official KO in the UFC.”

Looking passed the immediate future, I asked Allen what the dream fight and fight location would be. It doesn’t look like Arnold has small aspirations:

If you had everything you wanted, with the standings as they currently are, who is the dream fight and where would it take place?

“The dream fight would always be whoever is the champion and it would be pretty cool to have a UFC event at Wembley.”

The main event for evening showcases Darren Till vs Jorge Masvidal – I asked Arnold how he thought that fight would play out:

The main event features one of the biggest UK stars with Darren Till. How do you think the main event against Masvidal will play out?

“Till will handle Masvidal pretty comfortably, he’s too big for him.”

Regardless of how Allen vs Rinaldi finishes, Allen is a real prospect within the UK MMA scene and has the potential to go right to the top of the promotion. It should be an interesting and entertaining watch for fight fans to see Arnold’s ascent for the top.