Dan Hooker is returning to the UFC octagon again in March. For the first time in three years, the UFC will hold a tournament in Britain. On March 19, 2020, the promotion will host a UFC Fight Night event at The O2 Arena in London. And its schedule is filled with big matches.
The event will be led by an incredible heavyweight fight between Alexander Volkov and Tom Aspinall. The UFC, on the other hand, has introduced one extra battle to the fight card. Arnold Allen, an unbeaten British combatant, will face Dan Hooker in a featherweight fight. Representatives from the UFC announced the battle on their official Twitter page.
What a fight! ????@Arnoldbfa vs @DanTheHangman is signed for #UFCLondon ????????
????️ https://t.co/wg9VkLIZbA pic.twitter.com/1VwwxOb8Xr
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) January 24, 2022
In 2014, ‘The Hangman’ made his first UFC appearance in the featherweight category. After a few fights, he was promoted to the lightweight class. Nevertheless, following his latest submission loss to Islam Makhachev at UFC 267, the New Zealander stated his intention to return to the featherweight class.
Allen is now ranked seventh on the featherweight class, and a victory over Hooker will boost his standing much more. Hooker, on the other hand, has not yet been rated in the featherweight category. As a result, it is a crucial battle for both participants.
Dan Hooker vs. Arnold Allen: Overview
One of the most well-known names in the promotion is ‘The Hangman.’ In his pocket, he has a professional fighting career of 21-11. He has ten knockouts and seven submission victories to his credit.
Furthermore, ‘Almighty’ has just suffered one defeat in his tenure. He has a 17-1 professional MMA record, including five knockouts and four submissions.
When it comes to the battle, ‘The Hangman’ is the more seasoned fighter with a fair chunk of knockout and submission victories. Allen, on the other hand, has not ever earned a UFC bout by knockout. He has, nevertheless, competed twice in the past two years, incurring a fractured hand in his bout with Sodiq Yusuff last April, which caused him to sit for the rest of 2021.
Allen was supposed to fight top featherweights Josh Emmett and Jeremy Stephens in 2020, however, both of them backed out.
Hooker, the No. 8 listed lightweight, will face Allen at featherweight after fighting at 155 pounds for the last four years.
The New Zealander is having a difficult time in his career, having lost three of his last four fights to many of the greatest lightweight challengers.
When he fought at 145 pounds in the UFC, ‘Hangman’ finished 3-3, with his latest fight taking place in 2016.
After the 6’0″ Hooker returns to featherweight, Allen quipped that the promotion should institute height restrictions.
He said:
“They should introduce height limits in divisions, not weight limits! There should be like a three-inch limit, 5’9″ is the cap at featherweight.”
He further said:
“A win certainly jumps me up the division, getting a win over someone like that who is ranked in the weight above, it’s got to put you up. It either cements my position where I am or puts me in the position where I’m looking at guys ahead of me rather than people that ranked below and such.”
As for Dan Hooker vs. Arnold Allen match, the British fighter may have a chance of winning, but facing Hooker will not be easy, as the latter simply requires one good strike to terminate the battle. However, if ‘Almighty’ keeps a sluggish tempo and emphasizes his ground game, he may have an advantage.
