UFC featherweight Arnold Allen eyeing Yair Rodriguez or Brian Ortega in first quarter of 2025

EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada – Arnold Allen got back on track earlier this year following the first skid of his career, but looking to the near-term future, one part of his potential picture may have faded away.

After his featherweight title loss to champion Ilia Topuria (15-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi, ex-champ Max Holloway (26-8 MMA, 22-8 UFC) said he's all but certain to spend the rest of his career fighting at lightweight. Considering the first of Allen's back-to-back losses was a close decision setback to Holloway in a headliner, he now knows it's not likely he'll get a chance to get that loss back.

"The goal is whoever's got the title. That's what I want. If he hasn't got the title, he's going up to '55, then whatever," Allen (20-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) said backstage at UFC Fight Night 246 on Saturday in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Allen's loss to Holloway was his first in the UFC and snapped a 12-fight winning streak that included back-to-back knockouts of Dan Hooker and Calvin Kattar – neither small tasks. Nine months after that, he failed to rebound with a close decision loss to Movsar Evloev.

But in July, at UFC 304, he outworked Giga Chikadze in front of his home fans in England, and that has him feeling like it's time to get onto another streak once the 30-year-old clears some bumps and bruises.

Brian Ortega (16-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) and Yair Rodriguez (19-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) are fights at featherweight he thinks could happen for him in the first quarter of the new year.

"Anyone above me (is who I want to fight). It's been talked about a lot: Ortega is a guy that's been talked about after Holloway. I asked for Yair or Ortega. There was never any sort of sniff of anything. But I mentioned it, so I'm sure that they're more realistic now," Allen said.

As for the champion, Allen thinks if he gets a shot at him some day, it's a fight he can win.

"I want to fight the best guys in the world, and I feel like I match up pretty good with him," Allen said. "Back-to-back, he beat (Alexander Volkanovski) and Holloway with knockouts. Those guys are around the top for forever, and no one could beat those guys. So he definitely can be (champion for a long time), but I think there's always new people coming."

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC Fight Night 246.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC featherweight Arnold Allen eyeing Yair Rodriguez or Brian Ortega in first quarter of 2025