Dan Hooker is headed back up to lightweight for his next assignment.
After a brief return to featherweight that saw him fall to Arnold Allen this past March, Hooker (21-12) will make his way back to 155 pounds for a fight with Claudio Puelles (12-2) at UFC 281 this November.
FordewinMMA first reported the news on Tuesday. UFC broadcaster ESPN later confirmed the booking.
City Kickboxing’s Hooker has dropped back-to-back fights, having come up short against Islam Makhachev prior to going down to 145 to face Allen. The New Zealand-born fighter, a popular fan favorite regardless of weight class, is just 1-4 in his last five fights — though in addition to Allen and Makhachev, those losses have come against Michael Chandler and Dustin Poirier.
“The Hangman” will look to turn things around against Peru’s Puelles, who will come into the fight on a five-fight win streak inside the octagon. Three of those wins have come by way of a kneebar submission, with two earning a Performance of the Night bonus.
Puelles went to the finale of The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 3 tournament in 2016, losing the lightweight final against Martin Bravo. Bravo went 0-3 in the UFC and was released; Puelles has not lost since.
UFC 281 will take place at Madison Square Garden in New York City on November 12, 2022. Two title fights top the card, with Israel Adesanya facing Alex Pereira in the main event, while Carla Esparza takes on Weili Zhang in the co-main.
As it stands, the event currently has the following fights reported for it:
- Israel Adesanya (c) vs. Alex Pereira – for the UFC middleweight championship
- Carla Esparza (c) vs. Zhang Weili – for the UFC women’s strawweight championship
- Matt Frevola vs. Ottman Azaitar
- Molly McCann vs. Erin Blanchfield
- Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Silvana Gómez Juárez
- Dominick Reyes vs. Ryan Spann
- Michael Trizano vs. Seung Woo Choi
- Renato Moicano vs. Brad Riddell
- Dan Hooker vs. Claudio Puelles
