English featherweight contender Arnold Allen picked up his 10th straight win in the UFC as he extended his perfect record inside the octagon at UFC Vegas 63, but the manner of his victory wasn’t as emphatic as he would have hoped.

Allen defeated Calvin Kattar via second-round TKO after the Bostonian blew out his knee in the closing seconds of Round 1, then tried in vain to continue after the restart.

Prior to Kattar’s unfortunate, and innocuous, injury, Allen had looked in fine form. The Brit outstruck Kattar through the opening round, and enjoyed a lot of success with his straight left hand, which he appeared to be able to land at will.

Allen also briefly appeared to have Kattar in trouble with a vicious flurry of shots against the cage that forced the longtime contender to cover up and work his way free.

With Allen looking excellent early, Kattar attempted a flying knee, which Allen expertly evaded with a smart side-step. But as Kattar landed and half-turned to face his opponent, his knee appeared to buckle and Kattar crumpled into a heap on the mat.

Allen closed in and attempted to finish Kattar with a D’Arce choke, but Kattar defended well and survived until the end of the round.

But it was only a temporary reprieve as, after the restart and a quick assurance to the cageside physician that he was good to go, Kattar lasted just eight more seconds as his knee gave way again as he looked to step back to evade an Allen kick.

It forced referee Herb Dean to step in and wave off the fight, leaving Kattar injured and disappointed, and Allen victorious and frustrated at not being able to deliver the sort of performance he hoped would earn him a guaranteed title shot in his next outing.

After his victory, Allen stated that he couldn’t really call for a title fight with current champ Alexander Volkanovski after that particular fight. But, when pressed by Michael Bisping to call for his next assignment, Allen said he wanted a shot at the interim title.

“I’m devastated, you know?” he said.

“Volkanovski asked the guys to make a statement, and it’s another injury, a TKO by injury. I can’t really ask for a title fight after this. Maybe give me the interim job.

“If Volkanovski’s going to be out for a while, going up a weight, give me the interim shot. I feel like I deserve it.

“Give me the title shot, come on, Volk!”

UFC Vegas 63: Official Results

MAIN CARD

  • Arnold Allen def. Calvin Kattar via TKO (knee injury) – Round 2, 0:08
  • Max Griffin def. Tim Means via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
  • Waldo Cortes-Acosta def. Jared Vanderaa via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Tresean Gore def. Josh Fremd via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 0:49
  • Khalil Rountree def. Dustin Jacoby via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

PRELIMINARY CARD

  • Roman Dolidze def. Phil Hawes via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 4:09
  • Marcos Rogerio de Lima def. Andrei Arlovski via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:50
  • Park Jun-Yong def. Joseph Holmes via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:04
  • Steve Garcia def. Chase Hooper via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:32
  • Cody Durden def. Carlos Mota via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Christian Rodriguez def. Joshua Weems via submission (anaconda choke) – Round 1, 4:07