The lightweight division will be the focus at UFC Austin as Dan Hooker and Bobby Green face off in the co-main event on Dec. 2 at the Moody Center. In the main event, Beneil Darish will go head-to-head with Arman Tsarukyan.
UFC CEO Dana White announced the matchups late Monday night, also confirming that both the main event and co-main event will be five rounds.
Darish, coming off a loss to Charles Oliveira in May, is looking to bounce back. The 34-year-old fighter had previously won eight fights in a row and had earned three bonuses including Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night on his way to the top of the division.
Tsarukyan, on the other hand, will aim to continue his two-fight win streak after defeating Joaquin Silva and Damir Ismagulov consecutively. Since joining the UFC, Tsarukyan has an impressive 7-2 record, with his losses coming against current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and in a close decision to Mateusz Gamrot.
In an unusual five-round co-main event, Hooker and Green both emerged as winners.
After a short stint at 145 pounds, Hooker moved back to the lightweight division and secured victories over Claudio Puerez and Jalin Turner, re-establishing himself as one of the top fighters in his weight class. Green, a seasoned veteran, recently defeated Grant Dawson in just 33 seconds in early October and achieved a submission win over former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson in July. He is now aiming for a third consecutive win.
In addition to Darish vs. Tsarukyan and Hooker vs. Green, the UFC’s return to Austin will feature other notable matchups including Kelvin Gastelum vs. Sean Brady, Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Rob Font, Miesha Tate vs. Julia Avila, Khalil Rountree vs. Azamat Murzakanov, and more.
