Fight week in the UFC is usually supposed to be controlled chaos, but what happens when the chaos shows up early in the back seat of a taxi? That’s the scene Arnold Allen says greeted him on the way to UFC 324 in Las Vegas.

The Brit’s loss to Jean Silva on the UFC 324 main card already gave fans plenty to talk about. The fight swung back and forth, Silva stole the third round, and the viral ‘surfboard’ moment with 10 seconds left turned into instant meme fuel.

But before any of that happened, Allen’s fight-day story started with a ride that felt more like a scene from a dark comedy than a pre-fight routine. And if you’ve ever wondered how much mental energy fighters burn before they even touch gloves, this story answers that in full.

Recalling the morning in a video on social media, Allen said, “The fight day, we just hung out, nice day, nice weather. I think our driver turned up. I’m pretty sure he was high as f—. It’s hilarious. He took the scenic route. He picked us up from the Airbnb. I’m pretty sure he got lost. He kept calling me Alan Arnold.”

It might sound funny in hindsight, but imagine sitting there on fight day watching your driver miss turns while glued to his phone! If you’re a fighter trying to stay locked in, is that the headspace you want before walking into T-Mobile Arena? Probably not. Then came the moment that tipped it from awkward to alarming.

As sniffer dogs checked the car on arrival, ‘Almighty’ noticed the driver looking “so sketchy, so like, tweaking.” And then the driver joked, “Wouldn’t it be funny if they found a bag of dr— in the car?”

That’s the kind of joke that lands with a thud when your career, your night’s paycheck, and your focus are all on the line. As Arnold Allen further shared, “But yeah, very funny, kept calling me Alan Arnold, he said he was gonna look out for me, all this s–. Whatever, that was on the way to the venue, and I’m just sitting there like, what the f– man?”

Still, inside the cage, the No. 7-ranked featherweight put up a competitive showing at UFC 324. The bout was entertaining, and while Jean Silva edged the third round to take the decision, Allen felt he’d banked the first two frames. He even joked about the viral surfboard moment later on his YouTube channel with, “People say it’s disrespectful — and it is — I wouldn’t do it, but I’m not offended.”

The Octagon didn’t give him the win this time, but the story he brought back? That one’s going to stick around. But while he didn’t take the ‘surfboard’ moment personally, the British fighter did take issue with Joe Rogan and the commentary team that night!

Arnold Allen offers to “spar” Joe Rogan as he blasts the commentary for UFC 324

Once the dust settled on UFC 324, Arnold Allen turned his attention to something that lingered even longer than the memes: the way the fight was framed on commentary. And if you’ve ever watched a close fight and felt the broadcast told a different story than what you saw, you’ll get why this bothered him.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Allen said the verdict itself didn’t sting as much as how the moments were narrated in real time. In his view, “The commentary team, man, I don’t know. You hear rumors about agendas, and then you watch it.”

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His specific gripe? The way Jean Silva’s strikes were being talked up while his own work felt minimized. The commentary hyped the Brazilian’s blocked or glancing shots like they were huge moments, but when Allen landed clean and visibly hurt him, it barely got any reaction, and somehow Silva’s power still got all the praise.

That’s why he even joked about settling it the old-school way, “If Joe Rogan wants to spar with us before the fights, maybe they’ll know how hard I hit.”

In a weird way, Arnold Allen’s UFC 324 week ended up being a perfect snapshot of how thin the margins are in this sport. One minute you’re trying to stay locked in while your driver’s missing turns and cracking jokes that could’ve gotten you in real trouble.

The next, you’re in a razor-close fight that swings on small moments, then watching the narrative of it unfold in real time through commentary that doesn’t quite match how it felt in the cage. And that might be the real takeaway here. Losses happen, weird stuff happens, and the noise around fights can get loud and messy. But the fighters who stick around are the ones who keep showing up anyway!