ARNOLD ALLEN is treating his showdown with Calvin Kattar the same as any other fight – despite it having huge ramifications for the featherweight title picture.
The Suffolk strangler will bid to stretch his extraordinary win streak against the 145lb standout early on Sunday morning in the main event of UFC Vegas 63.
An emphatic victory over the American will put Allen on the brink of a shot at Alexander Volkanovski‘s featherweight crown.
But Almighty – who is riding a nine-fight win streak inside the octagon – isnât letting the potential prize of a title shot enter his mind ahead of the biggest fight of his career.
He told SunSport: “No [it’s not difficult to not think about a title shot]. That’s always the end goal. But at the moment, this is more important.
“This is the step to get there. If I don’t get the job done here, then I ain’t gonna get to that stage.”
Staying focused on the task at hand is something that has come easy to Allen throughout his career.
The 28-year-old said: “I’ve written down my goals and I know what the plan is. But I’ve seen it in a lot of people who get ahead of themselves and start calling out five steps ahead and start thinking ahead.
“It just takes one mishap for everything to go t**s up. The end goal is insight, but I know the short-term things are what matters [right now].
“Little victories here and there are what matter most.”
Although thoughts of a potential title shot are firmly at the back of his mind, Allen is all too aware of the magnitude of his first main event.
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He said: “It’s a good feeling, it’s a goal you always kind of work towards.
“Everyone when they get to the UFC wants to be seeing their face on a poster one day and headlining their own event. So it’s definitely a step in the right direction.
“And also alongside that, fighting a top-five and very elite guy. And I’ll be able to put my name in that elite mix of guys as well.”
Victory over New England Cartel standout Kattar will undoubtedly be the biggest of Allenâs UFC and MMA career.
And after seeing Kattar take an ungodly amount of punishment against Max Holloway last January, he knows it wonât come easy.
He said: “I know I’ve got power in my hands, but all my fights usually tend to be against the toughest guys. They tend to have heads of stone.
“Gilbert [Melendez], Dan Hooker, Sodiq [Yusuff] was tough as hell. And now Calvin. I don’t think anything has changed. They’re all granite heads.”
The stylistic challenge the boxing-heavy Kattar brings to the table is one Allen relishes.
He said: “We’re both predominantly boxers, predominantly stand-up fighters. He’s a bit longer than I am, I move a bit more than he does.
“It’s an exciting fight. I think on paper, it’s a fun fight. He’s a real dog of a fighter. He’s going to walk forward and try to break you down.
“I kind of do something different [each fight] I don’t tend to do the same thing. I’m a bit of a mixed bag, but I think it makes for an exciting fight.”
After meticulously planning how to make it a Perfect Ten inside the octagon, Allen is confident thereâll be no other outcome than his hand being raised.
When asked how the fight ends, he said: “With me being victorious.”
Unsurprisingly, leaving Las Vegas with a win in his maiden main event would mean the world to Allen.
He said: “This is everything [to me]. This is the reason I wake up at five or six every morning and drive three or four hours up the road and train with some of the best guys in the world.
“This is the reason I push myself and sacrifice all that time and smash my body up and all those things. It means a lot.”
