The UFC has booked a banger of a lightweight matchup for their first PPV in March. “The Hangman” Dan Hooker (22-12) announced on social media today that he would be taking on “The Tarantula” Jalin Turner (13-5).
UFC 285 goes down on March 4th and this should be a fight that fans are circling. Jalin Turner earned a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series and was thrown right into the deep end of the pool. He took on Vicente Luque and was stopped in the first round.
Overall, he went just 1-2 in his first three bouts. However, he’s really turned things around since the start of 2020. Turner has currently won five straight fights and with each fight, his competition has raised. His last win came at UFC 276 when he submitted Brad Riddell in just under a minute.
UFC 285
Of course, Riddell is a teammate of Dan Hooker at City Kickboxing. With that in mind, you have to know that this is a fight that Hooker really wants to get back for the team. Dan Hooker is coming off a big win against Claudio Puelles last November.
Entering that bout, Hooker was just 1-4 in five fights. However, one of those came at featherweight against Arnold Allen. At lightweight Hooker lost three times but the competition level was incredibly high. Islam Makhachev, Dustin Poirier, and Michael Chandler were the three men to beat him.
In my opinion, Dan Hooker is still one of the better lightweights in the world. He might not be at the elite level, but he’s incredibly talented and he’s going to be a massive test for Jalin Turner in March.