Dustin Poirier to return vs Dan Hooker in UFC San Diego main event
UFC San Diego looks to be getting a truly fan-friendly main event that will shake up the lightweight rankings. According to reports from MMA Junkie, the UFC are working on booking former interim lightweight champion Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier against New Zealand’s Dan “The Hangman” Hooker as the main event for UFC San Diego, May 16th. No contracts have been signed yet, according to the reports, but sources close to the fighters have confirmed the plans.
Hooker called out Poirier last year following a stunning KO victory over James Vick. However, Poirier did not show interest in the bout at that time.
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Fans haven’t seen Poirier in the cage since UFC 242, where he challenged lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov in a bid to unify UFC lightweight titles. Poirier became interim champ after beating Max Holloway via unanimous decision in April last year. Despite an impressive win streak and much momentum going forward, Poirier was forced to tap out to a rear naked choke in the thirdround of his bout with Nurmagomedov. That loss snapped a four fight win streak over many of the best lightweights in the world, such as Eddie Alvarez and Anthony Pettis.
Hooker is in on the best run of his UFC career. Since moving from featherweight to lightweight he has gone 7-1 in the division. Aside from a TKO loss to Edson Barboza, Hooker has had impressive showings in the octagon. He has knocked out the likes of Jim Miller and Gilbert Burns as he took the lightweight division by storm. He also holds a win over Al Iaquinta, who went five rounds with the above mentioned Nurmagomedov. In his most recent outing, he faced Paul Felder in the main event at UFC Auckland in Hooker’s home country. After five close and bloody rounds, Hooker won via split decision.
