ARNOLD ALLEN made it a Perfect Ten inside the UFC octagon thanks to a horrific knee injury to Calvin Kattar.
The Suffolk striker locked horns with the featherweight standout in the main event of UFC Vegas 63 early on Sunday morning.
And he secured the biggest victory of his MMA career in the second round when Kattar blew out his right knee seconds into the stanza.
After absorbing an outside calf kick, Kattar collapsed to the canvas in agony and grabbed his right knee.
Referee Herb Dean immediately waved off the fight, prompting a somewhat subdued celebration from Allen.
Allen said: “It’s bittersweet, but things were going right in the first round.
“Everything was going as I had planned, as I had trained, as I prepared [for].
“It is what it is. Hopefully, his injury is not too bad and he heals up quickly.”
Kattar appeared to jar his knee in the first round with a big flying knee that was wide of the mark.
The unfortunate ending to his first main event has more than likely delayed Allen’s bid to fight for the 145lb title next.
He said: “I wanted a performance that would stand out so I could actually ask, like, ‘Look, this deserves more this that and that. But now I’m in the same boat.”
JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET A FREE £10 BONUS WITH 100s OF GAMES TO PLAY AND NO DEPOSIT REQUIRED (Ts&Cs apply)
Allen, 28, is now hoping for a crack at the interim featherweight strap in the absence of champion Alexander Volkanovski, who is expected to challenge Islam Makhachev for the UFC lightweight title early next year.
He said: “I’m devastated. But if Volkanovski is out for a while, let me have the interim title shot.”
Allen is eyeing a return to the cage early next year but will await the result of an MRI scan on his right hand.
He said: “I’ve got an MRI booked for this hand. So hopefully it’s going to be all right.
“But every time I sit there, I’m like, ‘Yeah, it’s going to be all right.’
“So I won’t say anything until I know it’s alright.”
