Jalin Turner and Dan Hooker are set to face off at UFC 285
Dan Hooker vs. Jalin Turner has been added to UFC 285.
On March 4, the highly-anticipated return of Jon Jones will go down in the T-Mobile Arena. ‘Bones’ looks to become the undisputed heavyweight champion by taking out former interim champion Ciryl Gane.
Jones vs. Gane has enough firepower to sell tickets, but an exciting lightweight bout has been added to the fight card. TheMacLife made the announcement that Hooker will be fighting ‘The Tarantula'. They broke the news on Instagram with the caption:
“Dan Hooker has a fight booked, and he’s meeting number 10 ranked Jalin Turner in Las Vegas at UFC 285 on March 4.”
Turner had a shaky start to his UFC tenure, losing two of his first three fights. Since then, the 27-year-old has emerged as a legitimate title contender by winning five consecutive fights, all inside the distance. The number ten-ranked UFC lightweight reacted to the fight announcement on Instagram by saying:
“Back to Business March 4th 🕷️”
Meanwhile, Hooker bounced back from two consecutive first-round losses by defeating Claudio Puelles at UFC 281. The 32-year-old has been questioned about what’s left in the tank, but he has proven himself to still be an elite fighter against Puelles. 'The Hangman' had this to say on Instagram about his upcoming fight:
“100% chance of chaos. March 4th, UFC 285, Las Vegas.”
What’s at stake for Dan Hooker and Jalin Turner?
Dan Hooker vs. Jalin Turner is an opportunity for both fighters to make a statement. Hooker got back in the win column against Claudio Puelles but still needs to prove he’s worthy of another top five opponent. He’s currently ranked number eleven and could silence the doubters by taking out a rising contender like Turner.
On the contrary, Turner is just getting started and looking to put the division on notice against Hooker. ‘The Tarantula’ proved he deserves his number ten ranking by taking out Brad Riddell last time out, but there are still a lot of questions about the 6’3 lightweight. Fighting someone like ‘The Hangman’ will test his chin and see how he handles an elite pressure fighter.
It’ll be intriguing to see if Hooker vs. Turner is added to the UFC 285 main card. There are already five fights on the pay-per-view portion - Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane, Valentina Shevchenko vs. Alexa Grasso, Viviane Araujo vs. Amanda Ribas, Derek Brunson vs. Dricus Du Plessis, and Geoff Neal vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov.
Watch Dan Hooker make his UFC 285 fight announcement below: