New Zealand lightweight Dan Hooker will return to action on March 4, with a top-ten opponent standing opposite him at UFC 285.
Hooker (22-12) will face Jalin Turner (13-5) in the 155lb match-up at the PPV event. The fighter announced the news during an interview with The Mac Life on Tuesday. Cageside Press subsequently confirmed the booking.
“The Hangman” snapped a two-fight skid in November when he finished Claudio Puelles with a body kick at UFC 281 in New York City. Prior to that, he’d found himself defeated by current lightweight champ Islam Makhachev, and England’s Arnold Allen, the latter in a featherweight fight.
Ranked #11 in the UFC’s 155lb division, Hooker gets the #10-ranked fighter in Jalin Turner, with the number next to Turner’s name factoring large in the appeal of the fight.
Turner has won five straight fights dating back to February 2020. Most recently, he submitted another lightweight out of New Zealand, Brad “Quake” Riddell.
UFC 285 lands on March 4, 2023 and marks the return of former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who will at long last make the move to heavyweight. Jones faces Ciryl Gane for the vacant heavyweight title, in the wake of Francis Ngannou’s exit from the organization. A second title fight features Valentina Shevchenko defending against Alexa Grasso.
The following match-ups have been reported for the event, one of two PPVs the promotion is holding in the month of March:
Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane — for the vacant UFC heavyweight championship
Valentina Shevchenko (c) vs. Alexa Grasso — for the UFC women’s flyweight championship
Viviane Araújo vs. Amanda Ribas
Bo Nickal vs. Jamie Pickett
Geoff Neal vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov
Derek Brunson vs. Dricus du Plessis
Cody Garbrandt vs. Julio Arce
Julian Marquez vs. Marc-André Barriault
Kamuela Kirk vs. Esteban Ribovics
Da’Mon Blackshear vs. Farid Basharat
Jessica Penne vs. Tabatha Ricci
Cameron Saaiman vs. Leomana Martinez
