“This Is My Weight Class”- Dan Hooker on His Featherweight Return Against Arnold Allen at UFC Fight Night London

This weekend at UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall, the Kiwi fighter Dan Hooker returns to action for the first time in 2022. In the co-main event, ‘The Hangman’ will take on Arnold Allen at the O2 Arena in London for his featherweight return.

After starting out his UFC career as a featherweight, Dan Hooker eventually moved up to lightweight and went on to have plenty of success battling some of the top contenders. ‘The Hangman’ had beaten notable fighters like Jim Miller, Gilbert Burns, Al Iaquinta, and Paul Felder in his lightweight run.

But losses to Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler and Islam Makhachev over the past two years seem to have convinced Dan Hooker that the lightweight division is not the right weight class for him. Hooker will be returning to featherweight for the first time since 2016 and would now be looking to break into the title picture at 145 lbs by racking up wins against top contenders.

Dan Hooker believes featherweight is right weight class for him

This weekend Dan Hooker will make his return to the featherweight division when he faces Arnold Allen at UFC London. A win over Arnold Allen could catapult Dan Hooker straight to the top ten of the Featherweight division.

Speaking with Ariel Helwani on his show called ‘The MMA Hour’, Dan Hooker revealed that the featherweight division is the right weight class for him and also mentioned that the 145 pound division brings the best out of him.

Hooker said, “It requires another level of sacrifice, it requires another level of dedication that 155 doesn’t demand of me. So this is why it’s the best weight class for me. Because to compete at 145 I have to be 100% laser focused. And it brings out the best in me, which it has. This camp without a doubt has been challenging. But without a shadow of a doubt it has brought out the best in me and has made me develop and grow at a greater speed than I could ever do at 155.”

Do you think Dan ‘The Hangman’ Hooker can mark his featherweight return with a victory over Arnold Allen? Let us know in the comments section below.