Arnold Allen will once again miss out on a potentially big opportunity for his career.
The 28-year-old featherweight contender from England revealed in a video posted to his YouTube page that he was offered the co-main event slot at the upcoming UFC 286 card scheduled in London on March 18. Allen had an injury and was unable to train so he declined the UFC offer.
“I was offered the co-main event but unfortunately I popped a rib out the other week and haven’t been in training for a few weeks,” Allen said. “It’s pretty frustrating. It’s not cool.”
Allen did not reveal who he was being offered to fight, though he previously suggested Max Holloway (ex-featherweight champion) as a possible opponent that could help him secure his future title shot.
He had already missed out on an interim title fight that was booked for UFC 284 in Australia when the organization booked Josh Emmett against Yair Rodriguez for the co-main event in February.
“It was the fight everyone was expecting and the fight I wanted but I don’t even know the timeline [to fight again],” Allen said. “It will be a few weeks before I can start training again anyway. Too late to get into camp for that.”
With a perfect 10-0 record in the UFC, Allen has made a steady climb up the ranks at 145 pounds but sadly his career has often been derailed by injuries that have kept him sidelined for significant stretches of time.
He won two fights in 2022 against Dan Hooker, and Calvin Kattar. However, that was just the second time in his UFC career where he competed twice in one calendar year.
” It is what it was,” Allen stated. This has been my story all of life. It has worked out in my favor so I’m going to try and keep that positive outlook, get back into the gym soon, and hopefully continue it.
“I’m confident it’s going to lead to bigger things. This is not the way it was meant to be. It’s just the way it is. That’s the way the cookie crumbles.”
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/1/17/23559543/arnold-allen-reveals-injury-prevented-him-accepting-ufc-286-co-main-event-slot-the-story-of-my-life?rand=96749
