Dan Hooker has confirmed his return to the UFC octagon, predicting a “100 per cent chance of chaos” when he steps into the cage opposite Jalin Turner at UFC 285 in Las Vegas in March.
Following his last bout in New York in November, a second-round stoppage over unrankedcontender Claudio Puelles, No 11-ranked Hooker put a bid in for a swift turnaround - hoping to be booked to fight in the UFC’s return Down Under at UFC 284 in Perth next month.
While Hooker was open to fighting any opponent put in front of him, the UFC matchmakers wanted to book him against a ranked opponent and, speaking late last year, Hooker admitted it was hard to get a top 15 opponent in such a competitive division to travel that far.
Instead, it will be Hooker making the familiar trip to the States to meet No 10-ranked Turner on what is shaping up as a contender to be one of the year’s biggest cards. Last week, the UFC announced UFC 285 would be headlined by the return of long-time light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who will make his debut in the heavyweight division when he takes on Ciryl Gane for the vacant heavyweight title. The card is also expected to feature a women’s flyweight title bout between reigning champion Valentina Schevchenko and Alexa Grasso.
Turner will be a name familiar to the more involved UFC fans in the Oceania region. The 27-year-old American has won six of his eight appearances in the UFC, with four of those six wins coming against opponents from the Oceania region. Most recently, he beat Brad Riddell - a teammate of Hooker’s from Auckland’s City Kickboxing gym - by impressive first-round submission. He also fought on the last UFC card on Kiwi shores, beating Australia’s Joshua Culibao at Spark Arena.
Turner has not fought since his win over Riddell last July, after having surgery on an arm injury.
