This is the UFC 324 live blog for Arnold Allen vs. Jean Silva, the main card featherweight bout Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The fighters are neck and neck in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings at 145 pounds, with Allen at No. 7 and Silva at No. 8.
This is a pivotal matchup for Allen (20-3), who recently returned to the win column with a unanimous decision nod over Giga Chikadze. Allen has had his hand raised in 11 of his 13 UFC appearances, but his rise to a title shot has been hindered by injury and key losses to Max Holloway and Movsar Evloev. He returns to action for the first time since July 2024.
Silva (16-3) looks to rebound from his first UFC loss to Diego Lopes, a setback that may have cost him a championship opportunity. The Fighting Nerds wild card finished his first five UFC opponents before being stifled by Lopes.
Check out the UFC 324 live blog for Arnold Allen vs. Jean Silva below.
Preamble
Absolute banger to start UFC 324. I’ve been touting this as the matchup that could set the bar for Fight of the Year in 2026, so don’t let me down, fellas!
A title shot could await…
Post-Preamble
OK, after sweet intro, a little bit of a musical interlude, and even more analysis, NOW the first fight is coming up.
Always tell me the odds
Arnold Allen the underdog at +184, Jean Silva a significant favorite at -220.
Round 1
You can feel the tension here.
Silva rifles in a body shot. He’s holding center as Allen circles and tags him with a leg kick. Allen wise to keep his distance, but Silva tags him with another body shot. Allen just pawing to establish the range. Another short leg kick from Allen lands. Allen with a straight left down the middle that backs Silva up. He lets the left hand go and scores again. Counter right by Allen.
Allen goes to the body and follows with a leg kick. Just mixing up his strikes beautifully. It’s the Allen jab giving Silva trouble now. Crowd starts barking, trying to get Silva going. Front kick from Allen to the body. Silva with little volume and he’s just being picked apart in Round 1. Another good combination from Allen. Silva rips the body and follows with a good left. Uppercut from Silva. Silva with a spinning back elbow, that might have caught Allen. Silva follows up with a flurry, but there’s the buzzer. We’ve got a good one.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9, Allen.
