This past weekend at UFC London, the co-main event featured a battle between top featherweight. England’s own Arnold Allen (18-1) was looking to stay perfect inside the octagon as he was taking on the tough Dan Hooker (21-12).
Hooker was returning to the UFC’s featherweight division which is where he started his career inside the octagon. However, it was the lightweight division that saw him rise in popularity and stature.
That being said, after a recent 1-3 stretch, The Hangman decided to move back down. He did that at UFC London, but the surging Arnold Allen was waiting for him. Whoever won this fight was poised to enter the title picture at 145 pounds.
Well, the fight didn’t last long on Saturday. Immediately, Arnold Allen pushed forward and landed big shots on Hooker. At one point, Hooker hurt Allen back, but the fight was all Arnold Allen. Allen would go on to get the standing TKO win at UFC London.
What’s next after UFC London?
You always wonder how fighters are going to do whenever they move down a weight class after having a solid run in the weight class above. Cody Garbrandt recently moved to flyweight from bantamweight where he became a UFC champion.
Garbrandt was knocked out in his first flyweight fight. Hooker suffered the same fait and now he’s looking at a stretch where he’s 1-4 in his last five fights. What’s even worse is the fact that he’s been finished in his last three losses.
That being said, Hooker is far from done and Dana White said that after UFC London. This isn’t a situation like Marlon Moraes where you’re truly wondering if the guy needs to hang it up for good. I think Hooker still has plenty left in the tank, but he needs to win his next one.
I think he’s going to take a big step back in terms of competition. He needs a reset, but he still needs an opponent who is serviceable. A guy like Andre Fili comes to mind especially if he decides to stay in the featherweight division.