Hooker vs. Iaquinta Verbally Agreed To Face Off At UFC 243
The rise of Oceania MMA will have the UFC take its business to Melbourne, Australia for UFC 243. In many fans eyes, the event is developing into something spectacular. Especially with the new addition of Dan Hooker vs Al Iaquinta as per ESPN’s Ariel Helwani.
Al Iaquinta vs. Dan Hooker verbally agreed for UFC 243 on Oct. 5 in Melbourne, Australia, according to sources — https://t.co/3XjKwBc8il
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) August 12, 2019
Hooker was adamant on getting a fight on the Melbourne card.
The card is headlined by his training partner and good friend Israel Adesanya. Hooker previously told MMA Junkie that, “I’m going to be in Melbourne anyway, so I may as well (have a) fight. I felt good. That’s three of my last four fights that have been first-round knockouts.”
Both Hooker and Iaquinta have exchanged blows on social media, with Hooker claiming that Iaquinta turned the fight down originally. Iaquinta denied the accusations and further stated that the UFC never proposed the matchup.
The speculation is irrelevant, the fight is happening.
Hooker is coming off of a dominant performance against James Vick at UFC San Antonio. Besides a slugfest loss against Edson Barboza at UFC Milwaukee, “The Hangman” has won 5 of his last 6 fights, securing two performance of the night bonuses.
Iaquinta is coming off of a loss against “Cowboy” Donald Cerrone at UFC Ottawa. Ironically, Iaquintas last win came against Kevin Lee on the very same UFC Milwaukee card that Hooker was defeated.
The pair of fighters are fan favorites due to their styles of not being afraid to go out on their shield. Both competitors are thirsty for finishing their opponents and climbing the lightweight rankings. A matchup of this caliber will likely end in a performance bonus.
UFC 243 is shaping up to be a phenomenal event featuring all Oceania MMA has to offer.
The card is headlined by a middleweight title fight between Robert Whittiker and Israel Adesanya. The card also features fellow Oceania stars Megan Anderson, Tai Tuivasa, and Nadia Kaseem. The event is set to take place on October 6th in Marvel Stadium. This venue fits approximately 60,000 people and if sold out, could continue to break UFC attendance records.
