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

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

. 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, ...

division of the

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

(UFC). As of 15 April 2025, he is #6 in the UFC featherweight rankings.

Background

Born and raised in

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, 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 (MMA) promotion company 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 ...

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

. 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 ''UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Bisping'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 84'') was a mixed martial arts event held on February 27, 2016 at The O2 Arena in London, England. Background The event was the eighth that the promotion hosted in London ...

. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Allen was expected to face

Mirsad Bektic Mirsad is a male given name. In the Balkans, Mirsad is popular among Bosniaks in the former Yugoslav nations. The name is also spelled as Mersad or Mersed. There is also a female equivalent of the name in this region: Mirsada/Mersada (for example ...

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 Ma ...

. 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 (MMA), Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the former Tachi Palace Fights, Tachi Palace Fights Bantamweigh ...

. Allen faced Makwan Amirkhani 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 and Featherweight divisions of Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA). He was the lightweight winner on The Ultimate Fighter: ...

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 curren ...

on 20 January 2018. However, Allen was pulled from the fight on 11 January due to alleged

visa Visa most commonly refers to: * Travel visa, a document that allows entry to a foreign country * Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Vi ...

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 arts, mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2007, he has also competed for Bellator MMA, Bellator and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Backgr ...

at UFC 220. Allen faced

Mads Burnell Mads Burnell (born March 6, 1994) is a Danish mixed martial artist who competes in featherweight division of Bellator MMA. Professional mixed martial artist since 2013, Burnell has also competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Cag ...

on 27 May 2018 at UFC Fight Night 130. 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 Lightwei ...

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 Ricky Glenn (born April 12, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight division of the UFC. A professional since 2006, he is the former World Series of Fighting Featherweight Champion. Background Glenn was born in M ...

. 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, England. ...

. 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 Joshua James Emmett (born March 4, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2011, Emmett has also competed for K ...

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 ...

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 Dean Stephens (born May 26, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist, Bare-knuckle boxing, bare-knuckle boxer and professional boxer, who currently competes in the Lightweight (MMA), Lightweight division of the Ultimate Figh ...

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 professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Being born in Lagos, Nigeria, his fath ...

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 Preston Hooker (born 13 February 1990) is a New Zealand professional mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. He currently competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Hooker was the King in the Ring ...

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 arts, mixed martial artist and owner of MMA promotion ''Combat Zone''. He currently competes in the Featherweight (MMA), Featherweight division of the Ultimate Figh ...

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

Max Holloway Jerome Max Keli'i Holloway (born December 4, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight and Lightweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Fea ...

on 15 April 2023 at UFC on ESPN 44, where he lost via unanimous decision, ending his win streak in the UFC. Allen faced

Movsar Evloev Movsar Magomedovich Evloev (born February 11, 1994) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2014, he has also competed ...

on 20 January 2024, at UFC 297. In a competitive bout, he lost by unanimous decision. Allen faced Giga Chikadze on 27 July 2024, at UFC 304. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

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 ) of ordinary people. Depending on their actions, and the laws ...

, for his role in a 23 December 2016 brawl near Ipswich which left a man and five women injured. His brother Jake Allen, participates in Strongman and is currently European Champion in the 90kg weight class

Championships and accomplishments

** Performance of the Night (Three times) ** Third longest win streak in UFC Featherweight division history (10)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 20–3 , Giga Chikadze , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 304 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 19–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC 297 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 19–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on ESPN: Holloway vs. Allen , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

, United States , , - , 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, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, 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 city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

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

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, 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 List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

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

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, England , , - , Win , align=center, 13–1 ,

, Submission (guillotine choke) , UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Till , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:41 ,

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 12–1 , Makwan Amirkhani , Decision (split) , UFC Fight Night: Manuwa vs. Anderson , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 11–1 , Yaotzin Meza , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Bisping , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, 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 the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, 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 Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England. It borders Northumberland to the north and County Durham to the south, and the largest settlement is the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. The county is ...

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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 21st-century English sportsmen