Dan Hooker is finally getting his wish in being booked against a ranked opponent, as he will be facing off against #6 ranked Edson Barboza December 15th at UFC Fight Night on FOX 31. Dan Hooker confirmed the news on his Twitter account.
Dan Hooker brings an MMA record of 17-7 in the bout and a UFC record of 7-3. What really stands out for Hooker is that he is currently riding a four-fight win streak. On this streak, he holds victories over Ross Pearson, Marc Diakiese, Jim Miller, and most recently, Gilbert Burns who was quite arguably the biggest victory over Hooker’s career. What stands out even more is that each of these wins were finishes, three coming by way of knockout and one (Diakiese) coming by way of a guillotine submission. After his latest victory over Gilbert Burns at UFC 226, Dan Hooker made his wishes known and made good use of his microphone time:
“Give me someone in the top 10,” Hooker demanded. “Put some respect on my name. That’s four in a row. You’re getting these boys hurt, you’ve got to get someone on my level. Let’s go.”
Hooker will now get what he wanted come December 15th, and we will find out who is on who’s level.
Edson Barboza is an eight-year veteran of the UFC who has wins over names like Anthony Pettis, Gilbert Melendez, and Paul Felder. Although Barboza is currently on a two-fight skid, there is hardly any shame in losing to the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov and Kevin Lee. Now, with a fellow striker on his docket, Barboza will seek to have the same result as he did against strikers such as Anthony Pettis and Bobby Green and continue to show why his #6 ranking position has been well earned.
What is your prediction for this bout? Will Dan Hooker make it five in a row? Or will Edson Barboza get back to his winning ways?
