Dan Hooker returns at UFC 266 against rising contender Nasrat Haqparast

By Cole Shelton - August 16, 2021

Dan Hooker will be making his return to the Octagon at UFC 266 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Dan Hooker

Multiple sources have informed BJPENN.com that Hooker will face Nasrat Haqparast at UFC 266 on September 25 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Contracts have already been sent out for the fight, the sources said.

It should be no surprise to see Hooker and Haqparast agree to fight one another as they have been going back-and-forth on social media. Hooker has also been campaigning to fight for quite some time and mentioned UFC 266 as a possible date as he has teammate, Alexander Volkanovski on the card in the main event.

Dan Hooker (20-10) is the eighth-ranked lightweight and is coming off a first-round KO loss to Michael Chandler at UFC 257 in January. Prior to that, he dropped a back-and-forth five-round decision to Dustin Poirier in one of the best fights of 2020. Hooker has been in the UFC since 2014 and holds notable wins over Paul Felder, Al Iaquinta, Gilbert Burns, Jim Miller, and James Vick among others.

Nasrat Haqparast (13-3), meanwhile, is unranked but is on a two-fight winning streak. Haqprasat is coming off back-to-back decision victories over Rafa Garcia and Alex Munoz to return to the win column after being knocked out by Drew Dober. The 25-year-old is 5-2 in the UFC and also holds wins over Joaquin Silva, Thibault Gouti, and Marc Diakese.

With the addition of Dan Hooker vs. Nasrat Haqparast, UFC 266 is as follows:

  • Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega
  • Valentina Shevchenko vs. Lauren Murphy
  • Nick Diaz vs. Robbie Lawler
  • Jessica Andrade vs. Cynthia Calvillo
  • Curtis Blaydes vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
  • Dan Hooker vs. Nasrat Haqparast
  • Marlon Moraes vs. Merab Dvalishvili
  • Manon Fiorot vs. Mayra Bueno Silva
  • Uros Medic vs. Jalin Turner
  • Nick Maximov vs. Karl Roberson
  • Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. Chris Daukaus
  • Matt Semelsberger vs. Martin Sano Jr.

Who do you think wins, Dan Hooker or Nasrat Haqparast?

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


Topics:

Dan Hooker Nasrat Haqparast UFC