In the UFC on ESPN 44 Main Event, perennial contender Max Holloway meets surging British prospect, Arnold Allen. Holloway is a former UFC Featherweight Champion who is coming into this contest following his recent title loss to Alexander Volkanovski. Allen is an extremely talented young fighter who has yet to taste defeat in the UFC. Allen is (10-0) in the promotion with impressive stoppage wins over Mads Burnell, Dan Hooker, and Calvin Kattar. In the Co-Main Event UFC veteran, Edson Barboza returns to the cage to take on New York native Billy Quarantillo. Barboza is an explosive kickboxer who has faced some of the best competition in the world. Quarantillo is a tough competitor who has finished 13 of his 17 professional wins. Also on the main card, ranked Bantamweights Pedro Munhoz and Chris Gutierrez battle to stay in contention at 135 pounds.
No. 2 Max Holloway (23-7) vs No. 4 Arnold Allen (19-1)
This Saturday’s Main Event is a highly intriguing matchup between 145-pound contenders in different phases of their careers. Holloway has seen and done it all in the sport of MMA. The former Featherweight Champion is entering his 25th fight in the UFC and is one of the most experienced fighters on the roster. Holloway defeated Jose Aldo to win the title in 2017 and defended the belt successfully against Brian Ortega and Frankie Edgar. Allen is a tremendous athlete who has used his strength and physicality to overpower previous opponents. Allen has shown improvements in his striking in recent matchups and enjoys fighting out of the southpaw stance primarily. Holloway has tremendous boxing skills along with high-level cardio.
Allen may need to take this fight to the ground, where he should have a strength advantage over his opponent. Holloway, however, is hard to take off his feet, defending takedowns 84% of the time over his career. Holloway will want to keep this fight standing where he will rely on his speed and elusiveness to get the best of Allen. Allen has a powerful left hand that could lead to problems for Holloway if he is not defensively sound throughout the fight. Currently, Holloway is trending as a slight favorite (-190) at online sportsbooks.
No. 14 Edson Barboza (22-11) vs Billy Quarantillo (17-4)
In the Co-Main event, UFC veteran Edson Barboza faces Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt Billy Quarantillo at 145 pounds. Barboza (37 years old) is entering his 28th UFC fight and is still a viable contender in the featherweight top fifteen. Quarantillo is the former King of the Cage Lightweight champion and is a tough and durable competitor. Barboza has some of the most spectacular knockouts on his resume in the promotion. Barboza is tied with Nate Diaz and Dustin Poirier for the most Fight of the Night awards in UFC history (8). Quarantillo has gone 3-2 in his last five fights with victories over Alexander Hernandez, Kyle Nelson, and Gabriel Benitez.
Barboza will want to keep this fight standing where he will be the quicker and more dangerous fighter. Quarantillo may want to take this fight to the ground where he has five submission victories in his career. Barboza is entering the latter stages of his career and has lost two of his last three. This should be a highly entertaining fight for fans at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
No. 9 Pedro Munhoz (19-7) vs No. 13 Chris Gutierrez (19-3-2)
Kicking off the Main card, ranked Bantamweight contenders Pedro Munhoz and Chris Gutierrez will compete to stay in contention at 135 pounds. Munhoz is (1-3-1) in his last five fights and has not won a fight in the UFC since 2021. Munhoz recently dropped decisions to Marlon Vera and Dominick Cruz but has competed well with the division’s elite. Gutierrez is on an eight-fight unbeaten streak and has not lost since 2018. Munhoz is a short but powerful striker who also has eight submissions on his record. Gutierrez has nine knockouts on his record and recently finished former UFC champion, Frankie Edgar.
On the feet, Gutierrez has a two-inch reach advantage and will also be the taller fighter by three inches. In his lone UFC loss, Gutierrez was submitted by Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt Raoni Barcelos. Munhoz may take notice of that previous loss and formulate his game plan to grapple with Gutierrez, much like Barcelos was able to do. The winner of this fight will move one step closer to title contention.
UFC on ESPN 44 Prelims:
The UFC on ESPN 44 prelims are filled with up-and-coming contenders and interesting matchups worth tuning in for. Flyweight contenders are set to clash when Matheus Nicolau meets Brandon Royval. Nicolau is an extremely strong and powerful prospect at 125 pounds. Nicolau recently knocked out Matt Schnell and is 4-0 in his UFC career. Royval has won back-to-back fights and will look to keep his moving in the right direction this weekend. Also on the prelims, fan favorite Clay “The Carpenter” Guida faces well-rounded Mexican-born fighter, Rafa Garcia. Guida is a 34-fight veteran of the promotion and holds victories over B.J. Penn, Tatsuya Kawajiri, and Josh Thompson. Garcia is 28 years old and will have to defend takedowns and stay off the ground if he wants to find success against the former collegiate wrestler Guida.
The UFC on ESPN 44 prelims will begin at 4:30 p.m. CST with the Main card starting at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
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