Arnold Allen | ‘Young OG’ Wants To Excite

Arnold Allen of England prepares to face Jean Silva of Brazil in a featherweight bout during the UFC 324 event at T-Mobile Arena on January 24, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC)

English Featherweight Contender Loves A Good Tear-up, And He’s Ready To Entertain The Fans Again at Meta APEX.

By Simon Head • May. 14, 2026

Arnold Allen has been a part of the UFC furniture for more than a decade, but he’s still in the prime of his career.

Saturday night, Allen returns to action against Brazil’s Melquizael Costa in the main event, where the Englishman will look to turn back the in form Brazilian and bounce back from his recent defeat in the process.

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When Allen got the call, he’d just demolished some fish and chips at a local café – “It was a terrible fish and chips,” he said – as his manager cryptically called him late in the evening to check his weight.

“He called me at like, 10pm. I'm literally going to bed,” explained Allen. “He goes, ‘What are you weighing? I’m just checking if you could fight in nine weeks. I’ll call you back in the morning, if that’s OK. ’He didn’t even say who at that point!”

Arnold Allen Fight Week Interview | UFC Fight Night: Allen vs Costa

Allen hopped on his bathroom scales and wasn’t too appalled at the number, so declared himself good to go for fight camp. For a fighter who has struggled to get regular fights throughout his UFC career, the fight offers the opportunity to make a quick turnaround as he looks to bounce back from his last performance, coming up short against Jean Silva at UFC 324 back in January.

Allen has fought 14 times across his 11 years in the UFC, but has also seen six confirmed matchups fall through, with only one of them replaced to keep his fight date alive. It means that, when an opportunity comes, he’s happy to grab it with both hands.

“Yeah, that's the dream – to be active and fight,” he said. “I had people message me, thinking I don't like fighting. Like, ‘Oh, is it true you don't like to fight?’ It was like, ‘I'm literally in the UFC! I f****** love fighting!’ If I'm not fighting, it’s because I literally cannot. But yeah, I’m so happy to be back. Even after the last fight, straight back into the gym, straight back into sparring. It’s great to be back.”

Looking back at his fight four months ago, Allen offered an unusual reason for his defeat in Las Vegas.

Arnold Allen of England strikes Jean Silva of Brazil in a featherweight bout during the UFC 324 event at T-Mobile Arena on January 24, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

“Maybe I had too much fun!” he grinned. “But I felt great in there. I felt like I did enough, but I felt too good. Honestly, I just felt too good. I was like, f***, this is sick! I feel great! Maybe that (was why I lost), yeah! Maybe don’t have as much fun!”

However, another fun fight is on the cards this weekend when he faces Costa. Both fighters bring exciting fighting styles to the Octagon, and Allen reckons we could be in for another crowd-pleasing encounter.

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“Yeah, he’s fantastic, man,” he said. “He has a big record, a lot of fights, (with a) Muay Thai fighting background. It’s hard to know with Brazilians, because a lot of them have fought a lot of nobodies, so their records are very big. Loads of guys were over there and building their records up. But now he seems to be getting better every fight. He's fighting live fights, real fights, tough opponents, and taking them out. He looks fantastic.”

Costa started his UFC career losing two of his first three fights, but since then he’s gone on an impressive run of form. Wins over Shaylian Nuerdanbieke, Andre Fili, Christian Rodriguez, Julian Erosa, Morgan Charriere and Dan Ige have seen “The Dalmatian” surge into the official featherweight rankings. Now ranked No.12 at 145 pounds, Costa is bidding to break into the top 10 by defeating seventh-ranked Allen on Saturday night.

Main Event Preview | UFC Fight Night: Allen vs Costa

Allen knows he faces a creative, in-form opponent, and admitted that facing a tricky southpaw is an “annoying” proposition for him this weekend.

“He’s quite a unique character in many ways, right?” he said. “But like the way he fights, very dangerous, really good kicker, very versatile, a southpaw as well, so that’s f****** annoying!

“Southpaws are always awkward. I’ve fought some elite kickers, you know? Giga (Chikadze) stands out, but (he’s) orthodox, and more balding! But yeah, (Costa is) a different opponent. He’s really good, he’s very unique. He’s quite an individual character.”

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Allen is still only 32 years of age, but his lengthy tenure in the UFC has led to him being labeled with the “veteran” tag. The Ipswich native believes he’s still got plenty of gas in the tank and is only just hitting his fighting prime.

“I’m a YOG, a ‘Young OG,’ he said. “It's a bit interesting, because I was in the UFC from 21, so I've been around forever. But I haven't fought the most, maybe you haven't seen me the most, but, yeah, I’ve just been getting better on the job.

“It's kind of a weird one, because it makes you feel older than you are. You look at the other guys that making a noise around (the featherweight division) and I'm like, ‘He's 32. We're the same age. F*** you! They're calling me the vet!’ I'm like, ‘Get the f*** out of here!’ But yeah, it’s a bit of a funny one.”

Full Fight | Arnold Allen vs Dan Hooker

Allen’s pre-fight conversation was full of side jokes and sarcasm, but underneath it all, he is fully switched on to the job at hand. And, as he explained, victory alone is no longer good enough in the featherweight shark tank. To really stand out, you’ve got to get the fans off their seats, too.

“It seems like the landscape’s kind of changed, right?” he suggested. “I feel like an exciting performance, and an exciting finish, if I was ranked 56, would put me pretty f****** close to a title fight, you know? I mean, I go out there and do a Dan Hooker rematch, like that fight again – I was f****** sick – ‘let's give him a title fight,’ you know?

Saturday's Full Fight Card Preview

“Then if Movsar (Evloev) goes out and hangs on to someone for 15 minutes, or 25 minutes … he’s less likely to get a title shot than number 56, who went out and had a back-and-forth barnstormer, you know? That’s how I feel it is now.

“So, being ranked seventh, fighting a very exciting contender – I think they made this match because they don't expect us to have a grappling match. They probably expect us to strike. So yeah, I think that puts you closer to a title fight than beating the number one contender in a snoozefest.”

It’s hard to recall too many snoozefests in Allen’s career. His battle with Evloev was a closely contested tactical battle, but his wars with Silva, Giga Chikadze, Max Holloway, Calvin Kattar and Hooker all delivered exciting action, so being entertaining comes naturally. Instead, Allen’s main concern is about making sure he translates his training into his techniques on fight night.

“That's always the fear, training so hard (and) putting so much work in, to not do what you've practiced to do. You've done a million of these shots, and to not do it on fight night sucks. So yeah, I want to be able to say I did everything I prepared to do.”

If he does, Allen could be ready for a shot at the top five once again.

UFC Fight Night: Allen vs Costa took place live from Meta APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 16, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!