Mixed martial arts prodigy Arnold Allen has said he plans to ‘put Suffolk on the map’ this year with his performances in the UFC cage.

Allen, the county’s only fighter so far in the UFC – the premier league of global MMA - gets the chance to take a big step up the ladder in his next fight at the world-famous O2 Arena in March.

Trimley St Martin’s Allen, 23, (11-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) will trade leather with fellow prospect Makwan Amirkhani (13-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 107 on March 18.

It is a match-up which has fans of the sport purring, pitting two of the UFC’s most exciting – and unbeaten - featherweights against each other.

Allen will be returning to the octagon for the first time since last February, when he dominated veteran American Yaotzin Meza on route to a points win.

He started his career with a submission of the night victory over Alan Omer in Berlin, at short notice, but spent most of last year sidelined by injury.

“It’s been very frustrating,” he said. “My goal was to be more active last year and unfortunately I wasn’t able to be so.

“So that’s the plan going forward - avoid injuries and sickness, stay ready, stay active and put Suffolk on the map with some big performances.”

If Allen, who now trains at the world-famous Tristar Gym in Montreal, gets past fellow southpaw Amirkhani, he could well be ranked in the UFC’s top 15 featherweights for the first time.

“Getting in that top 15 is absolutely my goal, I’m looking to get the momentum going again and stay busy this year,” he said.

“The fight I have scheduled is always the biggest fight for me.

“I’ve fought a load of southpaws, and I’ve always had plenty of southpaw training partners too. Amirkhani’s got a well-rounded game and he talks a lot, so it will be fun and will hype the fight up.”

Tickets to watch Arnold in action at UFC Fight Night 107 will go on general sale at 10 am GMT on Friday, January 27 via AXS and Ticketmaster.