Dan Hooker is returning to 145, and he’s getting a ranked opponent right away.
‘The Hangman’ is back at 145.
The UFC announced on Monday that veteran lightweight contender Dan Hooker’s return to featherweight will happen at UFC London against the #7 ranked Arnold Allen.
Hooker (21-11) has found his best success at lightweight, where he beat James Vick, Paul Felder, and Al Iaquinta. The New Zealand native has lost three out of his last four, albeit against elite fighters such as Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler, and most recently Islam Makhachev. Hooker began his UFC career as a featherweight, alternating wins and losses on his way to a 3-3 record before making the move back up to 155. His most notable featherweight bout was a decision loss to Yair Rodriguez at UFC 192 in 2015.
Allen (17-1) is undefeated over his last 10 fights, with eight of them coming inside the Octagon. He’s coming off a unanimous decision over Sodiq Yusuff at UFC Vegas 23 last April, his only appearance of 2021. Allen also holds wins over Makwan Amirkhani, Mads Burnell, and Gilbert Melendez.
UFC London takes place on March 19th at The O2 Arena and is headlined by a heavyweight bout between rising English star Tom Aspinall and former Bellator champion Alexander Volkov.