Arnold Billy Allen (born 22 January 1994) is an English professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

. He currently competes in the

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

division in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC). As of November 8, 2022, he is #4 in the UFC featherweight rankings.

Background

Born and raised in

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include L ...

, Allen began training in mixed martial arts as a teenager and took part in several amateur fights before turning professional in 2012.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

He made his professional debut competing as a featherweight for various regional promotions across Great Britain, including a stint in

Cage Warriors Cage Warriors (CW) is an Irish owned mixed martial arts promotion, based in London, England. The promotion was established in 2001 and staged its first MMA event in London in July, 2002. Many MMA stars have made their names under the Cage Warri ...

. He was able to compile a record of 9–1 in his first three years along the way. After his TKO stoppage of Paul Cook in November 2014, Allen signed with the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Allen made his promotional debut on 20 June 2015 as a short notice replacement filling in for an injured Mike Wilkinson against Alan Omer at UFC Fight Night 69. After probably dropping the first two rounds, Allen won the fight via submission in the third round. He was also awarded a ''Performance of the Night'' bonus. Allen next faced Yaotzin Meza on 27 February 2016 at UFC Fight Night 84. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Allen was expected to face Mirsad Bektic on 8 October 2016 at

UFC 204 ''UFC 204: Bisping vs. Henderson 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on October 8, 2016 at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Background This was the fourth UFC event contested in Man ...

. However, due to injury, Allen withdrew from the fight and was replaced by

Russell Doane Russell Allan Doane is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the former Tachi Palace Fights Bantamweight Champion and King of the Cage Flyweigh ...

. Allen faced

Makwan Amirkhani Makwan Amirkhani ( fa, ماکوان امیرخوانی; born November 8, 1988) is an Iranian-born Finnish mixed martial artist

on 18 March 2017 at UFC Fight Night 107. He won the fight by split decision. Allen was scheduled to face

Enrique Barzola Enrique Johnatan Barzola Acosta (born 28 April 1989) is a Peruvian mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of Bellator MMA. He was the lightweight winner on The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 2. and he competed in the ...

UFC 220 ''UFC 220: Miocic vs. Ngannou'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on January 20, 2018, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Background A UFC Heavyweight Championship bout between curre ...

on 20 January 2018. However, Allen was pulled from the fight on January 11 due to alleged visa issues which restricted his ability to travel. Following this announcement, It was determined that Allen would be replaced by

Matt Bessette Matthew James Bessette (born December 28, 1984) is a retired American mixed martial artist currently competing in CES MMA where he is the reigning Featherweight Champion. A professional competitor since 2007, he has also competed for Bellat ...

at UFC 220. Allen faced Mads Burnell on 27 May 2018 at

UFC Fight Night 130 ''UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Till'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 130'' or ''UFC Liverpool'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the UFC that was held on May 27, 2018, at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England. Background The event w ...

. He won the fight via front choke submission in the third round. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award. Allen was expected to face

Gilbert Melendez Gilbert Melendez (born April 12, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist who formerly competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a two-time Strikeforce Lightweight Champion and a former WEC Lightwe ...

on 30 November 2018 at The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale. However, Melendez pulled out of the fight on 5 November and was replaced by Ricky Glenn. In turn, Allen pulled out of the fight on 16 November citing a cut he received while training. Allen faced

Jordan Rinaldi Jordan Rinaldi (born September 25, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist. He was the welterweight Complete Devastation champion. Rinaldi competed in featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Rinaldi was b ...

on 16 March 2019 at

UFC Fight Night 147 ''UFC Fight Night: Till vs. Masvidal'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 147'' or ''UFC on ESPN+ 5'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on March 16, 2019 at The O2 Arena in London, Englan ...

. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Allen faced

on 6 July 2019 at

UFC 239 ''UFC 239: Jones vs. Santos'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on July 6, 2019 at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area. Background A UFC Light Heav ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Allen was expected to face Josh Emmett on 25 January 2020 at UFC Fight Night 166. However Emmett was pulled from the event for an undisclosed reason, and he was replaced by

Nik Lentz Nik Lentz (born August 13, 1984) is an American retired mixed martial artist. He most notably fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, fighting in the lightweight division. Background Lentz was born in El Paso, Texas but grew up in Twin C ...

whose original featherweight opponent also dropped out of the event. Allen won the fight via unanimous decision. Lentz would later claim he lost 40% of his vision after being poked in the eye by Allen. Allen was scheduled to face

Jeremy Stephens Jeremy Stephens (born May 26, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of Professional Fighters League (PFL). A professional since 2005, he spent 15 years and competed in 33 bouts in the UF ...

on 7 November 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Teixeira. However, Stephens was forced to withdraw from the event, citing injury. In turn, the bout was cancelled. Allen faced

Sodiq Yusuff Sodiq Olamide Yusuff (born May 19, 1993) is a Nigerian–American mixed martial artist who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in the Featherweight division. As of December 13, 2022, he is #12 in the UFC featherweight rankings. ...

on 10 April 2021 at

UFC on ABC 2 ''UFC on ABC: Vettori vs. Holland'' (also known as ''UFC on ABC 2'' and ''UFC Vegas 23'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 10, 2021 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nev ...

. After knocking Yusuff down twice, he won the fight via unanimous decision. Allen faced

Dan Hooker Daniel Hooker (born 13 February 1990) is a New Zealand mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Hooker was the King in the Ring Middleweight Kickboxing Champion and WKBF ...

at UFC Fight Night 204. He won the fight via technical knockout in the first round. With this win, he received the '' Performance of the Night'' award. Allen faced

Calvin Kattar Calvin Kattar (born March 26, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2007, Kattar formerly competed ...

on October 29, 2022 at UFC Fight Night 213, winning via technical knockout following a knee injury to Kattar.

Personal life

Allen was issued a five-month

suspended sentence A suspended sentence is a sentence on conviction for a criminal offence, the serving of which the court orders to be deferred in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation. If the defendant does not break the law during that ...

after he pleaded guilty to

affray In many legal jurisdictions related to English common law, affray is a public order offence consisting of the fighting of one or more persons in a public place to the terror (in french: à l'effroi) of ordinary people. Depending on their act ...

, for his role in a 23 December 2016 brawl near Ipswich which left a man and five women injured. As a result, Allen could face travel restrictions due to the conviction.

Championships and accomplishments

** Performance of the Night (Three times) ** Tied ( Alexander Volkanovski) for the second longest win streak in UFC Featherweight division history (10)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 19–1 ,

, TKO (knee injury) , UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs. Allen , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:08 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 18–1 ,

, TKO (punches and elbows) , UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:33 ,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 17–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on ABC: Vettori vs. Holland , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 16–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. dos Santos , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the South ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Till vs. Masvidal , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 13–1 , Mads Burnell , Submission (front choke) , UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Till , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:41 ,

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 12–1 ,

Makwan Amirkhani Makwan Amirkhani ( fa, ماکوان امیرخوانی; born November 8, 1988) is an Iranian-born Finnish mixed martial artist

, Decision (split) , UFC Fight Night: Manuwa vs. Anderson , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , London, England , , - , Win , align=center, 11–1 , Yaotzin Meza , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Bisping , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , London, England , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 , Alan Omer , Submission (guillotine choke) , UFC Fight Night: Jędrzejczyk vs. Penne , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:41 ,

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

, Germany , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 , Paul Cook , TKO (doctor stoppage) , M4TC 15 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcast ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Gaetano Pirello , Decision (unanimous) , CWFC 71 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Amman, Jordan , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–1 , Marcin Wrzosek , Decision (unanimous) , CWFC 69 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , London, England , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Tobias Huber , TKO (punches) , CWFC Fight Night 11 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:37 , Amman, Jordan , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Doni Miller , TKO (punches) , CWFC 61 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:34 , Amman, Jordan , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Declan Williams , Submission (triangle choke) , CWFC 60 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:50 ,

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nor ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Andy Green , Submission (rear-naked choke) , CWFC 56 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:00 , London, England , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Carl Orriss , Decision (unanimous) , UCMMA 32 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , London, England , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Kim Thinghaugen , TKO (doctor stoppage) , UWC 21 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Nathan Greyson , KO (punch) , UCMMA 27 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:40 , London, England ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Arnold 1994 births English practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Ipswich Featherweight mixed martial artists Living people English male mixed martial artists English male kickboxers English male boxers Lightweight mixed martial artists Bantamweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing kickboxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters