Top-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Featherweight sluggers Jean Silva vs. Arnold Allen threw down at UFC 324 earlier tonight (Sat., Jan. 24, 2026) inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
And what a fight to kickoff the first main card bout of the Paramount+ era.
Heading into the matchup, Silva was coming off a heartbreaking setback, having been one fight away from his first UFC title shot when he ran head-long into Diego Lopes’ spinning elbow (re-live that here). The good news? The Brazilian knockout artist, 29, could regain momentum and return to the championship chase with a decisive win over “Almighty” in “Sin City.”
Allen, conversely, is a great fighter who just doesn’t compete enough. In fact, he didn’t appear a single time in 2025, having beaten Giga Chikadze back in 2024 and then nearly handed Movsar Evloev his first-ever professional loss just six months prior. “Almighty” isn’t an old man, either, at 31; however, the pressure was on for the talented English Featherweight to make his run at the title after a decade on UFC’s roster.
And, after three action-packed rounds, Allen was able to survive Silva’s pressure cooker, but not the judges scorecards, dropping a razor-thin decision after 15 minutes of violent action.
Silva, as usual, was stoic coming out of his corner — not blinking or breaking his stare through Allen. Allen was the more mobile fighter early, circling Silva and peppering him with light leg kicks until he identified an opening he could exploit. Silva, meanwhile, reached out with his lead hand, looking to dial-in a big shot. While he was waiting, Allen drilled him with a solid left hand down the middle, then a right hand backing up moments later. Silva uncorked a high kick midway through the round, with Allen attacking the body in response. Allen continued to circle, with Silva putting together a nice combination off a break. Nice low kick from Allen, then a front kick, as Silva appeared to show a little more urgency down the stretch. Allen continued to pot-shot Silva from distance, with Silva looking to cut off the cage and corner him. He was able to put together a solid barrage at the 10-second mark, but it probably wasn’t enough to erase Allen’s four minutes of dominance earlier in the round.
Silva’s corner warned him not to rush between rounds, and he certainly came out much more focused. He unleashed a nice high kick, then attacked the lower half. Silva stung him with a left hand moments later and there was a scramble, with Allen getting back to his feet and hitting a sweet combination on the break. Allen continued to jab Silva incessantly, but the Brazilian didn’t seem to be bothered. Midway through the second stanza and Silva was chasing Allen around the cage, hurting him with one big right hand after another. Allen responded with a huge knee, then a spinning attack, with Silva loading up to land a fight-ending killshot. Silva began to work the low kicks with Allen responding with all sorts of dynamic spinning shots. Big right hand from Allen stung Silva at the 30-second mark, but “Lord” responded in-kind. It was a much closer round heading into the third and final frame.
It was a close fight heading into the final five minutes. The two fighters exchanged early leg kicks, with Allen pumping his jab and Silva switching stances. Chopping combination from Silva to the body, then upstairs, as Allen looked to switch things up moments later with a takedown attempt along the fence. Silva tried to peel his hands off from around his waist and spin out, eventually able to break free. Silva grabbed a single-leg at the two-minute mark, but used it to do some dirty boxing rather than a takedown attempt. Silva eventually dumped him to the mat and just missed with a head kick in the scramble. Silva pointed to the center of the Octagon with less than one minute on the clock and began to really open up the offensive attack. He drilled Allen with a kick to the end, then dumped him to the canvas.
Silva likely stole Allen’s No. 6 ranking and is just one more big win away from competing for a 145-pound title. Allen is a tough customer, but he needs to be more active in 2026 and beyond to really make a sustained, meaningful run at Featherweight.
“Lord,” meanwhile, will be waiting in the wings for another juicy 145-pound showdown moving forward.
Final result: Jean Silva def. Arnold Allen via unanimous decision
