If the lightweight division was already sporting some of the best matchups in MMA, it just got even better.
BJPenn.com was first to report the news that No. 8 ranked lightweight Dan Hooker will fight rising prospect Nasrat Haqparast on September 25 at UFC 266. Haqparast would confirm the booking on Instagram.
Hooker (20-10) is on the first losing streak of his UFC career. After rattling off three wins in a row, he met Dustin Poirier in his second straight main event last June losing a unanimous decision in one of the best fights of the year. Most recently, he welcomed Michael Chandler to the UFC in January. The New Zealand fighter would lose via first-round TKO. Hooker will be defending his top 10 ranking come September.
Haqparast (13-3) is on a two-fight winning streak since getting knocked out for the first time in his career against Drew Dober. The German fighter rebounded against Alexander Muñoz and then welcomed Rafa García to the UFC winning both fights by unanimous decision. A win over Hooker would get him a ranking and would be the biggest win of his career.
UFC 266 is set to take place Sept. 25th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega are expected to headline the card.
UFC 266’s lineup is as follows:
- Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega – for the UFC featherweight title
- Valentina Shevchenko vs. Lauren Murphy – for the UFC flyweight title
- Nick Diaz vs. Robbie Lawler
- Curtis Blaydes vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
- Jessica Andrade vs. Cynthia Calvillo
- Merab Dvalishvili vs. Marlon Moraes
- Dan Hooker vs. Nasrat Haqparast
- Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. Chris Daukaus
- Manon Fiorot vs. Mayra Bueno Silva
- Uros Medic vs. Jalin Turner
- Sarah Alpar vs. Erin Blanchfield
- Nick Maximov vs. Karl Roberson
- Matthew Semelsberger vs. Martin Sano Jr.
