[autotag]Dan Hooker[/autotag] is headed back to lightweight in hopes of getting back on track against a rising UFC prospect.
The UFC veteran has booked his return to the division against [autotag]Claudio Puelles[/autotag] on Nov. 12 at UFC 281 on Nov. 12 in New York.
The news was first reported by FordewinMMA and later confirmed by UFC broadcast partner ESPN on Tuesday.
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Hooker (21-12 MMA, 11-8 UFC) is coming off a quick TKO loss to Arnold Allen this past March. The bout marked his return to featherweight after six years. Hooker, 32, is 1-4 in his past five trips to the octagon. His lone win during that stretch came against Nasrat Haqparast in a unanimous decision in September 2021.
Meanwhile, Puelles (12-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) is looking to continue to build momentum in the UFC. The Peruvian fighter is on a five-fight winning streak, which includes three kneebar finishes. Puelles last fought in April and submitted veteran Clay Guida to win a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus.
With the addition, the UFC 281 lineup includes:
- Champion Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira – for middleweight title
- Champion Carla Esparza vs. Zhang Weili – for women’s strawweight title
- Erin Blanchfield vs. Molly McCann
- Dominick Reyes vs. Ryan Spann
- Seungwoo Choi vs. Mike Trizano
- Silvana Gomez Juarez vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
- Renato Moicano vs. Brad Riddell
- Ottman Azaitar vs. Matt Frevola
- Dan Hooker vs. Claudio Puelles
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 281.
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