A potential No. 1 contender at featherweight is coming in the fall.
A fun featherweight fight is expected to headline an upcoming UFC Fight Night in October.
Brett Okamoto of ESPN reports Calvin Kattar and Arnold Allen have agreed to share the Octagon on Oct. 29 at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas. Contracts are expected to be signed soon.
Kattar is 1-1 in his past two appearances. The ‘Boston Finisher’ kicked off 2022 with a dominant showing against Giga Chikadze at UFC Vegas 46 this past January. He returned for a potential No. 1 contender opposite Josh Emmett at UFC Austin, where he lost by way of controversial split decision. Kattar received consecutive ‘Fight of the Night’ bonuses for his performances against Chikadze and Emmett.
Allen improved to 9-0 in the UFC with a first-round TKO of Dan Hooker at UFC London in March. Lingering injuries and fight cancelations have stifled ‘Almighty’ and his activity in the Octagon, but he hoped to be more active in the future. He can start with Kattar, who he specifically called for following his win over Hooker.
“I want to be in the top five and I think he’s top five,” said Allen at his post-fight interview (video provided by MMA Fighting). “That’s a fight that would put me there. We got offered that fight for a main event spot last year or earlier in the year, but I was out with injury. I think it works really good. He’s less tall than this guy, so that works out. He’s predominantly a boxer, I’m predominantly a boxer, so it’s a fan-friendly fight and I think I’m the better boxer.”
With the addition of Kattar vs. Allen, the UFC Fight Night now has 13 confirmed fights. The line-up is as follows:
- Calvin Kattar vs. Arnold Allen
- Edson Barboza vs. Ilia Topuria
- Andrei Arlovski vs. Marcos Rogério de Lima
- Dustin Jacoby vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.
- Steve Garcia Jr. vs. Chase Hooper
- Roman Dolidze vs. Phil Hawes
- Max Griffin vs. Tim Means
- Drakkar Klose vs. Mark O. Madsen
- Josh Fremd vs. Tresean Gore
- Joseph Holmes vs. Jun Yong Park
- Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Jared Vanderaa
- Garrett Armfield vs. Christian Rodriguez
- Cody Durden vs. Kleydson Rodrigues