Arnold Allen determined to become first man to stop Max Holloway as Brit bids to earn title shot at UFC Kansas City

ARNOLD ALLEN reckons he can punch his ticket to a featherweight title shot with a win over future UFC Hall of Famer Max Holloway.

The East Anglia Assassin is on the cusp of becoming only the fifth Brit to challenge for UFC gold thanks to a perfect stint inside the octagon.

REUTERSBrit Arnold Allen is back in action this weekend at UFC Kansas City[/caption]

UFCThe East Anglia Assassin will lock horns with former featherweight champ Max Holloway[/caption]

Allen is currently riding a ten-fight win streak inside the octagonGETTY

The Almighty reckons a win over fan favourite Holloway will earn him a title shotGETTY

Ten wins on the trot have earned Allen the No4 spot in the 145lbs rankings and a main event slot with former champion Holloway in Kansas City early on Sunday morning.

And he reckons he’s a shoo-in for the next shot at the belt if he gets past the beloved and ever-dangerous Holloway.

He told SunSport: “It’s the one [that gets me a title fight].

“As soon as they announced the interim fight, the next best thing was to fight the No1 guy. He’s the guy [to beat].

“If you want to be the champion of the featherweight division and you haven’t got past Max Holloway, do you deserve to be champion?”

Despite his clash with Holloway undoubtedly being the biggest fight of his career, Allen is treating it like any other bout.

He said: “It’s definitely the biggest fight of my career. I’m not approaching it any differently and I’m not stressing any more about it.

“It’s just another fight and it’s a good opportunity.”

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The 29-year-old continued: “I don’t feel any extra pressure. It’s the opportunity I want. It’s the opportunity I asked for.

“It’s very rare that I ask for something and it’s very rare that I do.

“So to ask for it and to get it and to have the opportunity for it in a headline event against Max Holloway is great.”

Fan-favourite Holloway will look to use surging contender Allen as a stepping stone for another title shot, although he’ll be hard-pressed for one if champion Alexander Volkanovski retains the belt against Yair Rodriguez in July.

Holloway has gone 0-3 against the Aussie but was at his imperious best in his recent wins over Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodriguez.

And Allen is expecting to face the version of Blessed who terrorised featherweights during his five-year unbeaten run in the division.

He said: “Volkanovski looked so good and you fight him three times – Max arguably won two of those.

Max Holloway has lost three of his last five octagon outingsGETTU

PAAllen is still expecting the breast version of Holloway to turn up on fight night[/caption]

“I gave him at least one. The last one, no question, he got dominated.

“But I think that’s more a credit to Volkanovski than a knock on Max. Then you see how good he looked against Islam [Makhachev].”

Allen continued: “He is elite, he’s a top-tier guy and championship calibre.

“But Volkanovski just seems to be on another level at the minute.”

Holloway has begun to accumulate a lot of damage in recent years and holds the record for the most strikes absorbed in UFC history.

Holloway has yet to be knocked down in his career, but Allen believes he can put Blessed down and out for the count.

He said: “I believe in my power. I know he’s fought some heavy hitters and not been stopped.

“He’s taken a pasting off Dustin Poirier and kept going.

“But I believe I hit differently. Not necessarily harder, but I’ve got something.”

Max Holloway has absorbed the most strikes in UFC historyGETTY

Arnold Allen reckons he can be the one to finally put Holloway’s lights outGETTY