Arnold Allen withdraws from UFC 333 as Losene Keita steps in to face Aaron Pico

Arnold Allen has pulled out of his UFC 333 fight against Aaron Pico, Bloody Elbow reports. Losene Keita will replace the Englishman on the Abu Dhabi card.

Arnold Allen has withdrawn from his fight against Aaron Pico at UFC 333 on 24 October, with Losene Keita stepping in as his replacement, Bloody Elbow reports.

MMA Fighting's Mike Heck reported that Allen had not had enough time to recover from previous treatments. The withdrawal disrupts Allen's bid to fight three times in a calendar year for the first time in his UFC career, something he last managed in 2014.

Allen, ranked No. 6 at featherweight, missed all of 2025 through injury. He returned in January after an 18-month absence with a shoulder injury, losing to Jean Silva before beating Melquizael Costa at UFC Vegas 117 in May.

Keita joins the card after winning one and losing one of his first two UFC bouts. He previously won titles in two divisions with Oktagon MMA and teased a major announcement on Thursday.

Pico is also 1-1 in the UFC. He was knocked out by Lerone Murphy on his debut before defeating Patricio Pitbull at UFC 327 in April, and now sits at No. 13 in the featherweight rankings.

UFC 333 takes place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, where Alexander Volkanovski will defend his featherweight title against Movsar Evloev in the main event.

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