Allen earns TKO win after Kattar injures right leg

English featherweight Arnold Allen picked up the biggest triumph of his vocation connected Saturday, though it didn't travel successful a mode helium wanted.

Allen (19-1) picked up his 10th consecutive UFC triumph wrong the Apex successful Las Vegas, defeating Calvin Kattar (23-7) via second-round TKO. The 145-pound contest, which headlined UFC Fight Night, extended Allen's wide triumph streak to 12. He signed with the UFC successful 2015 connected a two-fight winning streak.

Allen, 28, looked fantastic successful the opening round, but the decorativeness was inactive an unfortunate one. In the archetypal round, Kattar appeared to endure an wounded to his close limb erstwhile helium landed awkwardly aft a flying genu attempt. He came retired for the 2nd round, but rapidly fell to the level aft Allen threw a limb kick.

Afterward, Allen noted that featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski was looking for fighters "to marque a statement."

"That's ne'er a TKO by injury," Allen said. "I can't truly inquire for a rubric changeable disconnected this."

The country was reminiscent of different featherweight main lawsuit successful July, erstwhile Yair Rodriguez defeated Brian Ortega by first-round TKO aft Ortega suffered a dislocated shoulder. The effect is simply a convoluted concern astatine the apical of the division, with immoderate of the apical rubric challengers coming disconnected somewhat unfortunate victories.

Still, Allen was intelligibly winning the combat astatine the clip of the injury. He began to find a bushed with his near manus midway done the archetypal circular and landed a hard operation of punches to the caput and assemblage up against the fence. His gait was measured and confident, contempt it being his archetypal main lawsuit appearance.

Kattar, of Massachusetts, responded with immoderate little limb kicks and his ain close hand, but Allen inactive controlled the aboriginal exchanges. According to UFC Stats, helium outlanded Kattar 22-14 successful full strikes and connected connected a higher percent of his attempts.

Volkanovski (25-1), of Australia, has not booked his adjacent featherweight rubric defense, though he's expected to determination up successful value to situation recently crowned lightweight champion Islam Makhachev for a 2nd loop successful February. That imaginable 155-pound rubric fight, however, is not yet official.

If Volkanovski does determination up, the UFC could opt to make an interim loop astatine 145 pounds successful his absence. Allen called for that accidental connected Saturday. He would apt beryllium a campaigner for the opportunity, on with Rodriguez and Josh Emmett.