Getty Dan Hooker before his lightweight fight against Nasrat Haqparast during UFC 266 at T-Mobile Arena on September 25, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Popular UFC combatant Dan Hooker made his return to featherweight last weekend, but Arnold Allen shut him down in a big way. And Allen believes “The Hangman” should move back up to 155 pounds.
Hooker and Allen fought during the co-main event of UFC London and Allen once again got his hand raised as a 145 pounder, finishing The Hangman via first-round TKO. It was a tough loss for Hooker, who around a year ago was ranked near the top of lightweight. He’s now been finished in three out of his last four fights, and it’s unclear where Hooker will go from here.
But Allen, who’s on a nine-fight win streak inside the Octagon, believes featherweight shouldn’t be Hooker’s home. That’s what he said during the post-fight press conference on Saturday night.
“I personally didn’t think it was the best choice,” Allen said via MMA Fighting. “If anything, someone like that, going up [in weight] maybe again would be a good idea, but he knows his body, he knows how he feels. But yeah, I think his best work’s at lightweight. Not a knock at him or anything obviously, but I don’t think making that extra cut is a good choice.”
Hooker has had a lot of success at lightweight. In the UFC, he’s 8-4 as a 155 pounder, beating the likes of Paul Felder, Gilbert Burns and Jim Miller. As a featherweight in the promotion, The Hangman has a losing record, only winning three out of seven fights. It’s unclear what weight class Hooker will choose and how much time he’ll take off following his second-straight first-round defeat.
Allen Is on a Tear Through the Featherweight Division
Allen has had nothing but success in the UFC. He’s won all nine of his 145-pound clashes, beating notable names like Sodiq Yusuff, Gilbert Melendez and Nik Lentz. At the time of this writing, Allen is ranked No. 7 in the official UFC rankings.
And “Almighty” is prepared to elevate himself into the top five by taking on No. 5 Calvin Kattar next.
“I want to be in the top five and I think he’s top five, and that’s the fight to put me there,” Allen said. “And we got offered that fight for a main event spot last year, or earlier in the year I think, but I was out with injury.
“I think [that stylistic pairing] works really good. He’s less tall than this guy [Hooker], so that works out. But yeah, he’s predominantly a boxer, I’m predominantly a boxer, so it’s fan friendly fight and I think I’m the better boxer.”
Allen Predicts Alexander Volkanovski Will ‘Dominate’ ‘The Korean Zombie’
Allen will be watching the featherweight title fight that goes down next month. Reigning champion Alexander Volkanovski will put his belt on the line against “The Korean Zombie,” Chan Sung Jung.
They will act at the UFC 273 main event on April 9, 2022, in Jacksonville, Florida.
And Almighty believes Volkanovski will notch his third title defense. “I think Volkanovski’s going to dominate that,” Allen said during the presser. “I think he can even get a finish.”
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