Jean Silva is back in the win column. Competing in the first main card bout of the UFC’s new Paramount era, Silva out-struck and outpaced Arnold Allen in a wild back-and-forth affair at UFC 324 to capture a unanimous decision Saturday at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
Silva (17-3) landed the harder blows throughout much of bout, including a late shot to the midsection followed by a high kick that put Allen (20-4) in danger in the closing seconds of the first round. Allen fought back in the second and third frames, finding a consistent home for hard one-twos and blowing up a large knot on the left side of Silva’s forehead. The Brazilian ate it all though, and not only continued to fire back, but also mixed up his offense with four completed takedowns over the final 10 minutes.
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Silva’s right hand did repeated damage to Allen, carrying him to a 74-56 edge in significant strikes once the final bell sounded. Ever the wild man, “Lord” even closed the show with a bizarre sequence that saw him step onto Allen’s back and springboard himself into the air off it.
“We prepared as a team literally to be here for a three-round fight, a three-round war,” an emotional Silva said afterward. “I wanted to knock him out so badly and my team kept saying, ‘Wait, wait, wait for it, wait for it for the moment.’ Listen, it was very important for me. I know I wanted the knockout, but I really wanted to be here throughout the whole thing, because I love this thing. I love being here.
“I don’t care who’s the champion [after UFC 325] — I’m next.”
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A core member of Brazil’s famed Fighting Nerds team, Silva, 29, kicked off his UFC career in 2024 and rattled off five consecutive stoppage victories, culminating in an impressive submission of Bryce Mitchell this past April. However that momentum met a screeching halt in September when Silva found himself on the wrong side of a highlight-reel knockout at the hands of Diego Lopes, who’s now set to challenge for the UFC featherweight title on Jan. 31 at UFC 325.
After winning his first 10 UFC appearances, Allen’s own hot streak came to an end in 2023 with back-to-back losses against two of the division’s elite, Max Holloway and Movsar Evloev. The Englishman rebounded in July 2024 with a decision win over Giga Chikadze, but had been stuck on the shelf since due to injuries until Saturday’s UFC 324 reemergence. He’s now lost three of his past four bouts.
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Check out complete UFC 324 results, highlights and round-by-round play-by-play here.
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