'I know how hard I hit' - Suffolk star Allen stops Hooker at UFC London

Trimley's Allen moved to 9-0 inside the famed UFC octagon with a superb showing against Hooker (now 21-12, 11-8 UFC), landing his southpaw left hand frequently to wobble his decorated foe.

Arnold Allen lands a flurry on Dan Hooker at UFC London (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

The end came about halfway through the first round, as a flurry of punches left Hooker - who's generally only come up short against the truly elite - reeling against the cage.

Referee Dan Movahedi stepped in to end the violence, and featherweight Allen duly improved his record to 18-1 (9-0 UFC) with his first KO win in the UFC.

He said: "I know how hard I hit, I know how good of a striker I am, I know I've had decisions - but I knock people out.

"I had all sorts of thoughts of Dan doing the nasty stuff that he does to other guys. I was driving all the way to Birmingham to train with these top guys - I had images of me laid out on this canvas, I was s***ting myself.

"I was playing with my footwork, I've got fast feet. He was quite slow, but he's so long so I couldn't think how to get into range.

Arnold Allen improved to 9-0 in the UFC with a first round stoppage of Dan Hooker (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

"So I just thought, just throw!

"I'm top five now for sure. What we thinking, Calvin Kattar? I think that's a fight people want to see."

A clash with Kattar (23-5) would surely be close to a title eliminator for Allen, who figures to be a problem for everyone in the featherweight division, and dedicated the win to his Muay Thai coach, currently battling cancer.

Molly McCann celebrates victory after knocking out Luana Carolina at UFC London (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

While Allen's stoppage was dramatic, knockout of the night went to the super-popular Scouser Molly McCann, who starched foe Luana Carolina with a spinning elbow to bring a violent conclusion to their flyweight dispute.

McCann, now 12-4 MMA (5-3 UFC) had already dominated the first two rounds of the clash with her superior boxing and wrestling, but put the perfect punctuation on proceedings with a concussive spinning strike in the third stanza.

Referee Movahedi stepped in immediately to call a halt to the fight with Carolina's eyes rolling back into her head as she lay prostrate on the canvas.

Molly McCann climbs out of the octagon after knocking out Luana Carolina at UFC London. Referee Dan Movahedi looks after the stricken fighter (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

Earlier, former Colchester student Cory McKenna suffered her first UFC loss in her strawweight dust-up with Elise Reed.

Cory McKenna (left) in action against Elise Reed at UFC London (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

McKenna, 22, who attended Thomas Lord Audley School and started her MMA training at the town's BKK Fighters Gym alongside Allen, was peppered with right hands throughout the tussle and, although she scored three takedowns, came out on the wrong side of a split decision.

The scores were 30-27 McKenna and two cards of 29-28 Reed.

McKenna, who drops to 6-2 (1-1 UFC) with the defeat, is the youngest female fighter on the UFC roster and will go back to the drawing board at her Team Alpha Male base in Sacramento.

She will surely learn from the setback and come back better.