Arnold Allen says preparing for UFC 304 early start time caused him to crash his car: “It was pretty scary”

UFC featherweight contender Arnold Allen’s last sparring session ahead of UFC 304 preceded his first-ever car accident due to fatigue and tiredness.

Allen defeated Giga Chikadze to kick off the UFC 304 main card on Saturday in Manchester. After back-to-back losses entering UFC 304, Allen got back in the win column and remains a key player in the featherweight title picture.

Allen and the other UK fighters on the card had to adjust to fighting in the middle of the night at UFC 304. By the time Allen made his walk to the cage, it was about 3:00 a.m. local time in Manchester.

It took Allen weeks to adjust to the fight time to keep himself awake for when he would face Chikadze. Just days before UFC 304, Allen was involved in a scary car accident but luckily wasn’t injured.

Arnold Allen smashed his car due to lack of sleep ahead of UFC 304

In a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Allen explained what happened just days before UFC 304.

“I underslept that day because my team, there was an event that night and people were fighting. So I had to train and spar earlier,” Allen said. “I was driving home half asleep and I spun my car out, and crashed it into a barrier somewhere. That was on the way home after my last sparring. I was so tired, and it was pretty scary, facing the wrong way on the motorway…

“You don’t ever want to see the cars coming at you. I’ve been driving since I was 19, that was my first crash. Definitely not ideal the Saturday before your fight, a few days out. No one got hurt, didn’t hit anyone else, damaged my car a bit, and it was 100 percent because I was half asleep. Rushing home trying to get back to bed. So hopefully I never do that again because that sucked, and I damaged my car which I’m pissed off about.”

Physically unhurt by the accident, Allen will now turn his attention to his next UFC fight, potentially set for later this year. Before back-to-back losses to Movsar Evloev and Max Holloway, Allen won 12 consecutive fights.