UFC 285 is one of the year’s most anticipated fight cards. Most notably, the event marks the return of Jon Jones and his debut for the heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane. With it being one of the most highly anticipated UFC PPVs, unfortunately, Dan Hooker will likely not be a part of it.
Initially a part of the main card, Hooker is now out of UFC 285 after suffering a hand injury in training. As a result, fellow lightweight and #10 contender Jalin Turner is without an opponent. Despite Hooker’s withdrawal, it is assumed that Turner will stay on the card and will be given a new opponent.
Unfortunate news: Dan Hooker is out of his #UFC285 matchup with Jalin Turner after suffering a broken hand, per sources. Turner is expected to remain on the card, but no opponent at the moment.
— Mike Heck (@MikeHeck_JR) February 8, 2023
Previously, “The Hangman” enjoyed a successful return to 155lbs, taking down Claudio Puelles at UFC 281. Prior to that, Dan faced back-to-back losses against Islam Makhachev at lightweight and Arnold Allen at featherweight. Thus, the injury, which is understood to be a broken hand, will see him sit out any action for quite some time.
On the other hand, Turner (13-5) is currently riding a five-fight winning streak. In his last outing, Turner submitted Hooker’s City Kickboxing teammate Brad Riddell within 45 seconds of Round 1. Other names that “The Tarantula” has beaten include Jamie Mullarkey, Uros Medic, Josh Culibao, and more.
Dan Hooker reveals his broken hand injury
Following the news of Dan being out of the UFC 285 card, the Australian fighter took to Instagram. In the post, the #11 ranked lightweight is seen holding his hand up, which is covered in a cast. Although there is no confirmation of the extent of the injury, it can be assumed that he has likely suffered a fracture.
However, this is not the first time Hooker has suffered a major injury. Previously, the 32-year-old took a massive amount of damage during his KO loss to Edson Barboza. On the night, Barboza landed 127 strikes on the Hangman where many felt the fight should have been stopped sooner. As a result, Dan suffered a concussion along with a broken orbital bone.
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Following that, Hooker was in a 5-round war against Paul Felder, in his first UFC main event. In addition to that, the Australian suffered gruesome facial injuries during his second UFC main event, this time against Dustin Poirier. Despite a commendable effort and putting in arguably one of his best-ever performances, Dan lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Since then, the Hangman has been in rough form, winning only 2 out of his last 5 fights. Moreover, the losses included a thunderous KO loss to Michael Chandler and a nasty TKO loss to Arnold Allen last year. Thus, the victory over Claudio Puelles was a much-needed one and would’ve helped Hooker build himself up again.
