Arnold Allen arrived at the UFC Vegas 117 post-fight press conference still hunting for a finish that never came — and still adamant his statement win over Melquizael Costa had been delivered anyway.
The Englishman dominated five rounds at the Apex, taking the main event by unanimous decision. Sitting on the dais with most of the press row already gone home, Allen reflected on a performance he believes re-introduces him as a featherweight contender.
"I wanted to take him out, you know, not in a personal way. I just wanted to prove a point like I'm back. I'm dangerous, and I'm here to be a contender," Allen said. "I do not just want to scrape decisions against these tough young kids."
The night had not been straightforward. Allen revealed he carried a chest bug into fight week.
"I had a bit of a chest bug going on. I think I've been coughing up phlegm all week, but maybe it's the Vegas dry air," he said. "I felt good. Cardio is a myth. You just got to go for it."
The first round contained Costa's most threatening moment — a back kick to the body that briefly stopped Allen in his tracks.
"The first kick, first back kick he threw felt like I got hit with a battering ram in the stomach," Allen said. "It was the shot that knocked out Dan Ige, but he hit me in the chest and I was like, I think that knocked the mild asthma out of me."
From there it was Allen's fight. He marched forward behind a stiff jab, found the straight left in the pocket and kept his hands moving for twenty-five minutes. He credited the gameplan to his coaching team in England.
"Me and my coaches — we got Coach Prawn over here, and got my Muay Thai coach as well in England," Allen said. "Jack Mason, he's had like more fights than I've had dinner. He's had like 60 odd fights. I don't know how he does it because he runs a gym, manages me, has a real job, and does everything else. He'll be driving down the motorway studying tape, which I wouldn't recommend, but he does it."
Allen also pushed back at the suggestion the Apex was anything but home turf.
"I'll be honest, I didn't even notice a difference," he said when asked about renovations at the venue. "I was so locked in, I didn't think — I'll be honest."
The Suffolk fighter trained between BKK Fighters in England and Tristar Gym in Montreal for the camp, splitting his striking work across two Muay Thai coaches he has worked with for years. Whether the next assignment is a former champion or a top-five name, Allen made his case for both — not with a knockout, but with a five-round performance that left him asking only one thing of the matchmakers.
"Put respect on my name."
