New Zealand’s Dan Hooker will be back in the Octagon for his return to featherweight when he faces Arnold Allen which is expected to take place on March 19, in London, England inside the O2 Arena.
The promotion announced the news on Monday, (Jan. 24, 2022) and confirmed that Dan Hooker’s return to 145-pounds is set in stone against a serious contender at featherweight.
What a fight! 🔥@Arnoldbfa vs @DanTheHangman is signed for #UFCLondon 🇬🇧
🎟️ https://t.co/wg9VkLIZbA pic.twitter.com/1VwwxOb8Xr
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) January 24, 2022
Brief Look At Dan Hooker And Arnold Allen
Allen is 17-1-0 as a professional. Entering the UFC in 2015, Allen has put together quite a résumé with the organization. With a 10-fight winning streak intact, certainly, Hooker sees this as a huge opportunity to assert himself in a division he once slung leather in. Along Allen’s path in the UFC, the featherweight struggles to secure finishes and that was evident in his last four fights with the company.
During his run up the 145-pound ladder, Allen was able to conquer some legitimate threats though. The featherweight was tasked with facing Gilbert Melendez at the popular, UFC 239: Jones vs. Santos event. Given the accolades of Melendez, after the victory (unanimous decision), many fans began to realize the potential Allen has inside of the UFC. Following the big win, Allen secured back-to-back victories against Nik Lentz and Sodiq Yusuff and now finds himself in a pretty high-profile fight.
Dan Hooker has had a crazy road in the UFC. The Citykickboxing product entered the UFC in 2014. Despite a checkered record at featherweight during the first chapter of his UFC career, Hooker seemingly turned it around after taking lessons from his losses.
With several notable victories at lightweight, he has been on the cusp of title contention more than once. Hooker had the honor of welcoming three-time Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler to the mix but was knocked out before the fight really started to breathe. Prior to fighting Chandler, Dan Hooker and former interim champion Dustin Poirier had an epic fight where the two went to war.
While Hooker was unable to win some of the big ones, he has a chance to reassert himself as a player in a division he once fought in on March 19 against Allen. The card will be a historic one considering the UFC is returning to London, England after a 3-year hiatus caused by the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic. As of this writing, Tom Aspinall and Alexander Volkov are set to headline the UFC show in London, England.
With the addition of Dan Hooker vs. Arnold Allen, here is a tentative lineup for the UFC card on March 19:
- Alexander Volkov vs. Tom Aspinall
- Mike Grundy vs. Makwan Amirkhani
- Jack Shore vs. Timur Valiev
- Paddy Pimblett vs. Rodrigo Vargas
- Molly McCann vs. Luana Carolina
- Muhammad Mokaev vs. Cody Durden
- Elise Reed vs. Cory McKenna
- Jake Hadley vs. Allan Nascimento
- Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. Sergei Pavlovich
- Dan Hooker vs. Arnold Allen
