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ULTIMATE UNKNOWNS
Meet Arnold Allen, the Kate Bush-loving Brit on the verge of fighting for UFC title with win over MMA great Max Holloway
ARNOLD ALLEN is on the cusp of becoming only the fifth Brit to fight for an Ultimate Fighting Championship title.
The Suffolk strangler returns to action early on Sunday morning in the main event of UFC Kansas City.
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Standing between Allen's eleventh octagon win on the bounce and a crack at featherweight gold is former champion Max Holloway - who will look to catapult himself back into title contention with a win over the Brit.
In a sport where a lot of combatants are loud and boisterous, Allen is a welcome soft-spoken polar opposite to many of his peers.
So much so that some MMA fans don't actually know much about him.
SunSport recently had an exclusive sitdown with the 29-year-old and picked his brains on what makes him tick and more.
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What was your first fight that you can recall?
"It would definitely be [with] my brother. My brother used to beat the c**p out of me.
"So my mum and dad worked [late], they used to work in nightclubs and stuff, and he was my assigned babysitter because he was a few years older than me.
"And as soon as they'd leave, he'd pat me on the shoulder and he was like, 'Oh you know what's happening now.'
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"And I was just like, 'Ah man.' He would just beat me up every time they'd leave. Worst babysitter ever.
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"But you know what, he was the heaviest puncher that I ever trained with.
"Like literally, I've trained all over the world with world champions. He hits harder than everyone.
"He had like some record on some punch machine thing. I think the only guy that beat him was Francis Ngannou."
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If you could choose any fighter from any discipline to fighter whether it be boxing, mixed martial arts, Muay Thai or whatever, through any generation, who would it be?
"Let's go with Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee, yeah.
"Growing up, he was the guy I loved watching and a lot of guys say he's like the forefather of MMA and the way he sort of invented martial arts.
"Yeah, that was one of my inspirations growing up."
We were talking about being disciplined with your diet and training, what's your favourite cheat meal?
"Domino's, it's always Domino's. Yeah, that's my favourite. I just love pizza."
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Other than food, what's your guilty pleasure?
"Well, I like listening to Kate Bush sometimes.
"Yeah, and I got really peed off when, what was it, Stranger Things, and then it was everywhere.
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"And I was like, 'No, that's not her only song!' Like, 'What are you talking about?'
"Because I listen to Kate Bush, everyone thinks, 'Ah, it's because you watched Stranger Things.' But no."
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