Dan Hooker books return against Jalin Turner while Israel Adesanya’s next title challenger is set to be found at UFC 290

Dan Hooker last fought at Madison Square Garden in November where he claimed a second-round TKO win. Photo / Getty Images

Dan Hooker believes being forced to pull out of a scheduled UFC bout due to a broken hand will be a blessing in disguise as he prepares to make his octagon return.

Hooker, the UFC’s No 11-ranked lightweight, was booked to fight against Jalin Turner (No 10) at UFC 285 in March but had to withdraw from the fight after breaking his hand during a training session.

It was an unfortunate setback after an impressive second-round stoppage win in New York late last year saw him get back on track after back-to-back losses earlier in 2022, but Hooker said he hoped things would work out in his favour because of the injury.

“Everything in terms of my fighting clicked into place, and training and where my game is, I feel like I’ve turned a corner in the last couple of months which is funny,” he told the Herald.

“Usually my fighting is all over the shop but my body’s great and I can just jump straight in there, but this has been the opposite. I think the broken hand will be a blessing in disguise to let the body heal and get back to 100 per cent. It’s just my time now. Everything’s come together.”

Events working in Hooker’s favour has started with him booking his return bout – rescheduling his date against Turner for UFC 290 in Las Vegas in early July.

Getting the fight rebooked immediately was due to the match-up being one UFC fans want to see, but also because of results going Hooker’s way. After he pulled out of the March booking, Turner took on No 7-ranked Mateusz Gamrot on short notice. Had Turner won that bout, he would likely be looking to fight higher up the rankings. He lost by decision, leaving a date with Hooker as an obvious choice.

“You can’t knock a guy like Jalin for taking another fight against someone ranked higher, but I was upset when this fight came apart,” Hooker said.

“I just thought it would be a good fight. The fans want to see it, the UFC wants to see it, both fighters are definitely keen, so I think it was more that people wanted to see this fight happen which is why this fight came back together.”

It’s a fight that comes with plenty of intrigue. At six-foot, Hooker is one of the taller fighters in the lightweight division, but he’ll be at a height and reach disadvantage when he meets the six-foot-three American in July.

Both men are clinical strikers who have shown they have the tools to pick opponents apart or finish them with one shot, and they both have several submission wins on their records as well.

“That’s the thing I was most intrigued by in this fight; the length and not only who’s taller – I think he’s taller and longer – but it’s who fights taller and longer,” Hooker said.

“I think for how tall he is, he fights quite short so I think it’s going to be a really interesting stylistic match-up.”

The 27-year-old American Turner has won six of his nine appearances in the UFC, with four of those six wins coming against opponents from New Zealand or Australia. Most recently, he beat Brad Riddell - a teammate of Hooker’s from Auckland’s City Kickboxing gym - by impressive first-round submission.

Elsewhere at UFC 290, Kiwi-born Aussie Robert Whittaker will take on South Africa’s Dricus Du Plessis in a title eliminator, with the winner earning the next shot at Israel Adesanya’s UFC middleweight title. UFC boss Dana White said earlier in the week that Adesanya’s next title defence is being targeted for a proposed card in Sydney later in the year.