In combat sports, it's very important that a fighter improves gradually. If they miss a step on the way up, they could get trounced in a way that isn't simply detrimental to their physical health, but can be bad for their confidence too. Sage Northcutt was supposed to be the next all-American welterweight champion, but only 13 fights into his career, he faced multi-time kickboxing world champion Cosmo Alexandre, got his face broken and hasn't fought since.

Likewise, nobody stays at the top of the mountain forever. Some negotiate their descent through the rankings well, others – often those refusing to take a step down when the time is right – drop like a stone. Just look at the career of B.J. Penn for the example par excellence.

The main event of UFC Kansas City, Max Holloway vs. Arnold Allen, is one of the rare matchups where it feels like both men are on the verge of taking that next step, and in both scenarios, it could be for good or for ill.

Holloway, the former featherweight champion, only 31 years old, has already guaranteed a spot in the Hall of Fame. His record of 23-7 contains a 13-fight win streak with victories over Charles Oliveira, Anthony Pettis and Jose Aldo (twice). It also contains three losses to current champion Alexander Volkanovski; the first two were close, the third was the kind of beating Holloway has never had before and seemed to signify the end of an era.

As for Allen, he is 19-1, undefeated in 12 since that loss way back in 2014. Injuries kept him fairly inactive following his UFC arrival in 2015, but an accumulation of wins over mid-tier talent eventually got him paired with Dan Hooker in March 2022. Allen smashed Hangman in less than a round, elevating him to top 5 in the rankings. This led to a matchup with championship gatekeeper Calvin Kattar. Allen was winning until Kattar's knee blew out, and this put the Brit in an awkward position: it's officially a win, so at this level, it guaranteed him a title eliminator. On the other hand, he won due to his opponent's unforced error, so he was getting the title eliminator having only beaten one upper-tier fighter.

For four rounds, this main event that was pitched as a crossroads instead resembled something of a freeway with both guys heading in the same direction, one slightly faster than the other. Holloway didn't look like a man coming off a decisive 0-3 sweep to the champion, he looked calm, collected and always in control. His precise boxing and fleet footwork allowed him to always be a second too fast for Allen, a step too far away to be hit. Not only that, his famous granite chin and lightning quick reflexes didn't appear diminished at all.

And yet Allen never looked out of the contest. He's a combination striker who does his best work when he has momentum – think of him as the MMA equivalent to David Benavidez – and even though Holloway never let him build, Allen never released the pressure. He hunted the former champion for 20 minutes, regularly taking a few to land one in thunderous revenge.

With the final round looming, Allen went back to his corner and was told by coach Firas Zahabi, in no uncertain terms, that it was do or die and he had to get a finish.

Out of nowhere, he pushed his high pace somehow even higher. No longer content with pressuring Holloway, he bullied him across the Octagon, swinging on each punch and kicking like it was his last. He was so aggressive he even ended up accidentally spitting out his mouthpiece. For the first time in the bout, Holloway didn't have the time or space to fully evade and got squashed by Allen against the side of the cage for moments at a time.

It ultimately didn't matter. Already well ahead on the scorecards and in the striking differentials, Holloway kept stinging Allen with short, sharp counterstriking, maintaining the range and preventing the knockout.

Before the judge's scorecards were even readout post-fight, Allen knew he had lost. It was 46-49, 46-49, 47-48 for Holloway and fairly so. In fact, it didn't feel like anyone had truly "lost" anything: besides for the W, Holloway knows he's still an elite featherweight and Allen, in losing his undefeated streak, knows now he's good enough to hang with the top-tier at 145. For both fighters, this was a step in the right direction.

[Header: Max Holloway has his hand raised by Arnold Allen following his win over Allen in the featherweight main event of UFC Kansas City at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. on April 15, 2023. /Zuffa]