The UFC returns to Kansas City, MO for the first time since 2017 on Saturday, with UFC Kansas City: Holloway vs. Allen topped by a key featherweight fight.
Former 145lb champ and future Hall of Famer Max Holloway is set to face the surging Arnold Allen, a British talent who has won 12 straight fights, with ten of those wins coming under the UFC banner. A win for Allen will almost certainly land him a title shot, against the winner of Alexander Volkanovski vs. Yair Rodriguez, expected to take place in July.
The situation for Holloway is a little murkier, having lost to Volkanovski on three separate occasions. A third fight with Australia’s Volkanovski would be a hard if not impossible sell, though a Rodriguez win could see “Blessed” right back in the mix.
Our picks are in! Here’s how our crew sees UFC Kansas City going down Saturday night.
| Writer | Guida vs. Garcia | Munhoz vs. Gutierrez | Cutelaba vs. Boser | Jacoby vs. Muzakanov | Barboza vs. Quarantillo | Holloway vs. Allen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Behunin (34-18) |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Val Dewar (32-20) | | | | |  | |
| Jay Anderson (26-26) |  | | | | | |
| Eddie Law (25-27) | | | | | | |
| Dylan Rush (25-27) | | | | | | |
| Jason Payne (2-3) | | | |  | |  |
If nothing else, our team was confident in their picks this week. There were two consensus picks on the UFC Kansas City main card, with all writers responding selecting Tanner Boser and Chris Gutierrez to win their respective fights. Boser will be making his 205lb debut in the UFC against Ion Cutelaba, dropping from heavyweight, while Gutierrez faces Pedro Munhoz.
The closest fight to call on the card was the co-main event, with the vote split down the middle between Billy Quarantillo and Edson Barboza in their featherweight scrap. All but one writer responding sided with Max Holloway to get the nod over Arnold Allen in the main event, meanwhile. And in the card’s opening fight, all but one writer selected Rafa Garcia to take the W against veteran lightweight Clay “The Carpenter” Guida.
UFC Kansas City kicks off at 5:30PM ET on Saturday, April 15, 2023, with the main card going live at 8:30PM.
