Arnold Allen responds to Nik Lentz eye gouge complaint: ‘He was fighting so dirty’

Arnold Allen improved his UFC record to an outstanding 7-0 last weekend in Raleigh with a win over featherweight stalwart Nik Lentz, but a video the veteran posted in the aftermath of the bout has caught the young Englishman off guard.

Lentz took to social media to reveal two cuts he suffered to his cornea due to an Arnold eye gouge at the end of the second round. Although Allen admitted that he accidentally gouged the American, he also insisted that Lentz was fighting “dirty” throughout their 15-minute contest.

“Yeah, I did see [the video], but whatever man - it’s a fight,” Allen told MMA Fighting’s Eurobash podcast.

“I accidentally poked him in the eye. And I did, but it was an accident fully. But, man, he was fighting so dirty anyway. He was grabbing my shorts and I’ve got scratches inside my wrists where he was grabbing my gloves - he was clawing my hand inside the gloves. I had double unders against the fence and he was gouging my eyes with both his thumbs. And then he goes and posts a video bitching about it...come on...it’s a fight.”

Allen believes the video was posted in an attempt to sour his victory and revealed that he has been receiving hostile messages from Lentz’ fans labeling him a cheater.

“Yeah definitely, I have people sending me messages calling me a cheater and stuff - your guy is the cheater,” said Allen. “It’s a fight at the end of the day. At least if he fought clean and he wanted to complain about an accident that happened, that’s fine. But he was doing dirty veteran tricks on me...whatever.”

The 26-year-old insisted that the gouge claims will not take away from his win.

“It’s made me laugh a bit...he was fighting proper dirty. Accidents happen, it definitely did go in [his eye], but whatever. It’s a fight at the end of the day...what do people expect? It’s a fight.”

Arnold Allen joins the latest episode of Eurobash at 19:00.