‘I went insane’ – Inside Arnold Allen’s 190lbs weight transformation ahead of Jean Silva fight at UFC 324
Arnold Allen must weigh no more than 146lbs when he hits the scales this week on his return at UFC 324.
Allen, who opens the main card of the UFC‘s first event in 2026 against Jean Silva, has fought the majority of his career at featherweight.
But during his 16 months away from the Octagon, the Englishman bulked up to 190lbs – more than what Khamzat Chimaev weighed in at before he was crowned middleweight champion at UFC 319.
The weight gain wasn’t because Allen was inactive or ill-disciplined, but because fighting – what he describes as ‘living my personal dream’ – was taken away.
‘Almighty’ had suffered a shoulder subluxation that left the joint separated, along with a torn labrum and rotator cuff damage.
He fought Movsar Evloev with the injury lingering in the background, but after defeating Giga Chikadze at UFC 304 in July 2024 – his last fight to date – he knew he needed time out.
Arnold Allen: Depression led me to insane strength rebuild
“I was getting depressed not being able to train martial arts and pursue my career,” Allen said, describing his spell on the sidelines.
“To go further, fight people and chase that title shot I wanted.”
Allen embarked on a 10-fight winning streak from the start of his UFC tenure in 2015, earning himself a rightful top 15 ranking at featherweight.
He was on the brink of a title shot against Alexander Volkanovski before suffering back-to-back defeats to division greats Max Holloway and Evloev.
“If I’m in a position where I can pursue my goals, then I’m happy,” Allen added.
“But as soon as there’s something that puts a halt to that and I can’t continue … that sucked and it really got to me.”
With no way to air his frustrations through the usual intricacies of mixed martial arts, Allen turned to something measurable, controlling the controllables.
He went into Beast Mode – a phrase popularised by NFL running back Marshawn Lynch due to how hard he ran with the ball.
Like Lynch, Allen himself went headfirst.
An ‘Almighty’ transformation
“I just had to have little goals to keep me sane,” the current No. 6-ranked UFC featherweight said.
“So as soon as I got the all clear to rebuild the strength, I didn’t just rebuild, I went insane with it.”
Allen set himself a goal of being able to squat 200kg (441lbs).
“It was like, maybe I couldn’t grapple, but I could go do squats. Maybe I couldn’t grapple, but I could do my upper body, rehab stuff. Maybe I couldn’t go sparring, but I can do this,” he added.
“I ended up squatting 190kg (419lbs), and as soon as I did that, I said, ‘I’m going back to training.’ So we went back to training from there.”
Strength runs in the Allen family genes.
His dad, Pacer, is a former strongman and MMA fighter, while his brother, Jake, was crowned Europe’s strongest man in his weight class in 2025.
For Allen, the challenge wasn’t becoming huge, but finding a method to replace the one-of-a-kind feeling of stepping into the Octagon under the lights.
Now, the real challenge for ‘Almighty’ is to make weight for UFC 324, but he’s all too familiar with the process to come up short.
Allen turns 32 on January 22, two days before fight night, marking the first time in his career he will be cutting weight on his birthday.
Arnold Allen’s cut ahead of UFC 324
“Obviously, the diet leads up,” he said, explaining the weight cut process he’s endured 23 times in his professional MMA career.
“It’s six to eight weeks of good, strict dieting and following a good meal plan and all that stuff.
“The fight week is important: we do a water loading phase where you basically super hydrate.
“To be honest, I’ve done it 30 times, I don’t even know the science, but I just get told to do it.
“You manipulate the sodium and the salts in your body and you basically hyper hydrate and then you dehydrate – it’s pretty s***.”
Allen has travelled from his training camp in Montreal, Canada, to Las Vegas for UFC 324.
The event marks a new chapter for Dana White‘s promotion as a mega $7.7billion broadcast deal across seven years with Paramount+ begins.
He appreciates being the opening act for the first main card of 2026, but admitted he wants to be ‘headlining shows’ as he eyes UFC gold in 2026.
Allen also recognised the dangerous qualities his opponent, Silva, possesses.
Silva is part of the renowned Fighting Nerds MMA gym, and Allen has said members of the Brazilian’s camp have been keeping a close eye on his socials for any small insight since the fight was announced.
He wants three fights in 2026, with the latter a battle for the featherweight strap.
Arnold Allen's potential 2026
Should Allen come out victorious at UFC 324, there are a plethora of options for the Englishman to force his way to a featherweight title shot.
Current champion Alexander Volkanovski will be favoured in his rematch with Diego Lopes at UFC 325, having already fought and defeated the No. 1-ranked contender over five rounds.
Volkanovski, 37, has previously toyed with the idea of retirement, but has consistently played down those suggestions ahead of his second meeting with Lopes.
Assuming ‘The Great’ hangs around for one more championship run, he’s likely to meet one of Movsar Evloev or Lerone Murphy next.
Murphy has been linked with a homecoming at UFC London, where he could meet Evloev in a title eliminator.
The winner of that would be expected to get their hands on the champion next.
There is little else either man could do to earn a title shot, unless the UFC opt for a wildcard like Yair Rodriguez or Aljamain Sterling – both top-ranked contenders – although that appears unlikely.
This would leave Rodriguez, Sterling or the loser of Evloev vs Murphy potentially available for Allen.
Allen has already fought the undefeated Evloev, while Dana White may be reluctant to book an all-British affair, meaning ‘Almighty’ could find himself lined up against either Rodriguez or Sterling.
This would put him in a winner-takes-all situation, similar to Evloe vs Murphy, where a victory would likely put him next in line for a title fight.
Allen told talkSPORT his dream scenario is to have three fights in 2026, with the final outing being for the belt – a goal well within reach if he is convincing against Silva at UFC 324.
Volkanovski is the current champion at 145lbs and defends his belt against Diego Lopes in a rematch on February 1.
Evloev, Yair Rodriguez, Lerone Murphy and Aljamain Sterling make up the rest of the names above Allen in the rankings.
Allen accepted a bout with Rodriguez in December, but the Mexican was injured.
Briton Murphy is rumoured to face Evloev in a title eliminator bout in the main event of UFC London, although that fight has not been officially confirmed.
Allen has no issues with fighting his fellow Englishman, or any of the aforementioned names should it mean he gets his first UFC title shot.
“It’s going to be very fun,” he concluded, speaking on the Silva contest.
“It’s the opener for a reason – the people know he never brings a boring fight, me neither, so there’s gonna be some blood, there’s gonna be screaming, it’s gonna be great.”
UFC 324 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Paddy Pimblett faces Justin Gaethje in the main event for the interim lightweight title.
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