Arman Tsarukyan vs. Dan Hooker official for UFC Qatar, massive co-main event announced

Arman Tsarukyan vs. Dan Hooker isn’t the only high-stakes fight announced for UFC Qatar on November 22nd by Dana White.

UFC lightweights Arman Tsarukyan and Dan Hooker will officially square off in the main event of UFC Qatar next month.

Tsarukyan vs. Hooker was reported weeks ago as the UFC’s planned main event for the inaugural event in Qatar, but UFC CEO Dana White made the fight official on Wednesday. White shared the news in an Instagram Live session.

Tsarukyan will get a second chance to earn a lightweight title shot after withdrawing from UFC 311 due to injury earlier this year. He was supposed to face Islam Makhachev for the UFC lightweight title before pulling out just hours before the event due to a back ailment.

Now, Tsarukyan will have to win at least one fight before earning a title shot against current titleholder Ilia Topuria. Topuria’s timeline for a return to the Octagon is uncertain, as of this writing, meaning the Tsarukyan vs. Hooker winner could be Topuria’s next opponent.

Meanwhile, Hooker returns following a win over Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 305 last year that propelled him into the lightweight title mix. Hooker was supposed to fight at UFC 313 against Justin Gaethje before withdrawing due to a hand injury.

Dana White: Former UFC champion set to return in UFC Qatar co-main event

White also announced another massive fight scheduled for UFC Qatar.

Former UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad will return to title contention to face Ian Machado Garry in the UFC Qatar co-main event. This marks Muhammad’s first fight since losing the welterweight belt to Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315.

Before dropping the title to Maddalena, Muhammad was on an 11-fight unbeaten streak, featuring wins over Leon Edwards and Gilbert Burns.

Garry returns to the Octagon after handing Carlos Prates his first UFC defeat at UFC Kansas City in April. Garry bounced back following his first-career loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov in the UFC 310 co-main in December.

Muhammad vs. Garry comes at a busy time in the UFC welterweight division. Maddalena will defend his title against Islam Makhachev at UFC 322 next month, and Prates vs. Edwards will feature on the card.

Muhammad was linked to a potential matchup with Kamaru Usman in recent months, but it appears the UFC has other plans for the former titleholder, Usman.