The first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) pay-per-view (PPV) of 2024 is pinning down its first big fight.
A pivotal Featherweight contender clash between top-ranked competitors, Arnold Allen (19-2), and the undefeated Movsar Evloev (17-0), is in the works for UFC 297 on Jan. 20, 2024, according to the Twitter account, judobetter995. MMA Fighting has since confirmed the report, adding that the event is being looked at for Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The event is currently the furthest out on UFC’s schedule.
For England’s Allen, the match up would act as the first rebound attempt of his UFC career, suffering a hard-fought unanimous decision loss to Max Holloway in April 2023. The loss snapped “Almighty’s” 10-fight winning streak within the promotion (12 overall).
Allen would make for the biggest fight of Evloev’s burgeoning career. The rising potential future title challenger has garnered heaps of praise from the community, resulting in him as a common favorite ahead of his bouts. Evloev last extended his perfect record with a tough short-notice win against Diego Lopes by unanimous decision at UFC 288 in May 2023.
UFC Featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski, recently teased the possibility of returning in January 2024. When it comes to his next possible challenger, another undefeated fighter, Ilia Topuria, is the clear top option, chomping at the bit to try and dethrone “The Great.” Should Volkanovski get back in action that month, it would presumably fall on the same card as Allen vs. Evloev.