Tag: UFC London

UFC fan favorite Dan Hooker is ready to make a splash when he returns to featherweight, starting with an impressive performance against England’s Arnold Allen.

Despite his recent run of form consisting of losses to some of the best lightweights in the world, Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler, and Islam Makhachev, Hooker feels that to remain in contention for UFC gold, he has to make a change.

Believing he doesn’t have a place among the 155-pound elite until the landscape of the division changes, “The Hangman” made the decision to move back to 145 pounds.

While he initially targeted dream fights with “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung and Brian Ortega, Hooker has had to settle for a contender outside the top five. Nevertheless, a victory over Allen will certainly insert the New Zealander right into the title picture at featherweight.

The pair are set to throw down on March 19, a date that will signal the promotion’s return to London, England. While “Almighty” Allen targets a triumph in front of his home crowd, Hooker will be looking to spoil the party for the Ipswich native.

Hooker Hopes To Steal Allen’s Momentum

Despite going 1-3 in his last four Octagon outings, Hooker isn’t returning to featherweight with the aim of taking easier matchups and rising the ranks slowly. He wants to get straight into the mix at 145 pounds and book dates with the top names in the division.

With Allen, that is exactly what he’s getting. The Englishman is unbeaten in the UFC. Across his unblemished 8-0 promotional record, the 28-year-old has established himself as one of the fastest-rising contenders thanks to victories over Makwan Amirkhani, Nik Lentz, and Sodiq Yusuff.

Discussing how the matchup came together in an interview with The AllStar, Hooker explained why Allen is the kind of opponent he usually accepts, while others tend to turn down.

“He is really good, but not like, a big name. I can see why I got that fight because I generally get the fights that other people don’t wanna take,” said Hooker. “That’s generally how I wind up with opponents… I feel like this is the situation with Arnold Allen, where he’s a super-talented fighter, very technical, well-rounded, and not the biggest name. Those are the difficult fights.”

While others have perhaps shied away from the challenge of defeating Allen, Hooker is excited by the prospect of becoming the first blemish on the #7-ranked contender’s résumé.

“For sure, it excites me to get out there and get the opportunity to stop that run, stop a run like that, undefeated in the UFC, 8-0. That’s a huge accomplishment in itself, to reach that sort of achievement, so the opportunity to get out there and stop it, and to take all of that momentum that he’s carrying off those eight wins and take it for myself, that’s what excites me about this fight.”

While he isn’t taking the task of handing Allen his first loss in MMA’s premier promotion lightly, Hooker is anticipating a place right in the mix among the featherweight elite if he is successful on March 19.

“Without a doubt, he’s #7 and he’s got all that hype,” added Hooker. “I’m not looking past Arnold or anything like that, but yeah, that (victory over Allen) gets you one of those big-name guys in the division, and that’s really like, my main motivation for going down to featherweight and for making the cut, to put myself straight back in the mix.”

Having previously gone 3-3 during his initial stint at featherweight in the UFC, Hooker will be after more consistency when he makes his return to the lighter weight class.

Who do you think will have their hand raised at UFC London, Dan Hooker or Arnold Allen?

Dan Hooker will make his return to featherweight when he takes on 145-pound contender Arnold Allen at UFC London on March 19.

The event, expected to take place at the O2 Arena, will mark the UFC’s first trip to England’s capital since before the COVID-19 pandemic. The promotion confirmed the addition of Hooker vs. Allen to the card on Monday.

While the March 19 card will represent the UFC’s return to across the Atlantic, it will mark an even bigger homecoming for Hooker (22-11), who will be returning to featherweight for the first time since 2016.

After a 3-3 start in the UFC at 145 pounds, “The Hangman” made the move to lightweight. There, he initially went 7-1 and defeated the likes of Gilbert Burns, Jim Miller, Al Iaquinta, and Paul Felder. But since a main event victory over “The Irish Dragon,” Hooker has seen his form plummet.

In his last four outings, the New Zealander has gone 1-3, falling to defeats against Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler, and Islam Makhachev. Despite those names representing three of the toughest tests in the weight class, Hooker acknowledged that returning to contention will be difficult in the current lightweight landscape.

After a successful trial weight cut to 145 pounds late last year, Hooker made it clear he was pursuing a return to featherweight. Now, with his desired matchups against “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung and Brian Ortega not coming to fruition, “The Hangman” will be welcomed back to the division by a surging Englishman.

At UFC London, Hooker will be looking to score one for the internationals when he faces Ipswich native “Almighty” Allen (17-1). The 28-year-old is widely considered the hottest prospect at 145 pounds and has found himself at #7 in the rankings after a perfect 8-0 start in the UFC.

Allen’s record on MMA’s biggest stage includes triumphs over Makwan Amirkhani, Gilbert Melendez, and Nik Lentz. Most recently, he established himself as the top rising contender in the division by getting past Sodiq Yusuff in April 2021.

Allen and Hooker will join a stacked UFC Fight Night card with a host of exciting names. The event will be headlined by an intriguing heavyweight contest between perennial contender Alexander Volkov and England’s best hope for a UFC heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall.

Listed below are the fights currently expected to go down on March 19 in London, England:

Alexander Volkov vs. Tom Aspinall (heavyweight main event)

Dan Hooker vs. Arnold Allen (featherweight)

Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. Sergei Pavlovich (heavyweight)

Jack Shore vs. Timur Valiev (bantamweight)

Paddy Pimblett vs. Kazula Vargas (lightweight)

Nathanial Wood vs. Liudvik Sholinian (bantamweight)

Makwan Amirkhani vs. Mike Grundy (featherweight)

Molly McCann vs. Luana Carolina (women’s flyweight)

Cody Durden vs. Muhammad Mokaev (flyweight)

Jake Hadley vs. Allan Nascimento (flyweight)

Cory McKenna vs. Elise Reed (women’s strawweight)

Who do you think will have their hand raised at UFC London, Dan Hooker or Arnold Allen?