Dan Hooker “would love to” fight Beneil Dariush at UFC 303 at International Fight Week

Dan Hooker is hoping to face Beneil Dariush next.

Hooker has been rehabbing the broken arm he sustained during his win over Jalin Turner from last July. He reinjured the arm in his training camp for Bobby Green which was supposed to take place last December.

The plan now for Hooker is to return this summer and he’s interested in facing Beneil Darisuh at UFC 303 who recently expressed interest in facing the Kiwi native.

“June on that card, if Beneil wants it, I would love to. I would love to take that fight… June, International Fight Week, I will punch Beneil Dariush’s head clean of his shoulders. There is no doubt about it. That would obviously be my top pick, he has been quiet shooting his shot, I don’t know if that’s a date he’s willing to commit to. If I get a contract through, I’ll be signing that in two seconds,” Hooker said to TheAllStar.

On paper, a fight between Dan Hooker and Beneil Dariush does make sense, especially at UFC 303. Dariush is ranked sixth at lightweight while Hooker is ranked 11th, and Beneil will need to fight below him in the rankings after back-to-back losses. It’s also a crucial fight for the lightweight division, as the winner would be a win or two away from being in a title fight or title eliminator bout.

Dan Hooker is 23-12 as a pro and riding a two-fight winning streak. Before the win over Jalin Turner, he scored a TKO win over Claudio Puelles after a loss to Arnold Allen in his return to featherweight after a submission loss to Islam Makhachev.

Beneil Dariush, meanwhile, is 22-6-1 and on a two-fight losing skid having suffered first-round knockout losses to Arman Tsarukyan and Charles Oliveira. Before the setbacks, Dariush was on an eight-fight winning streak and had notable wins over Mateusz Gamrot, Tony Ferguson, Drew Dober, Drakkar Klose, and Thiago Mosies among others.