Dan Hooker and Arman Tsarukyan step into UFC Qatar carrying two very different kinds of unfinished business. Hooker’s return at UFC Qatar feels like a long-paused chapter finally restarting. He hasn’t fought since August 2024, when he gutted out a hard-earned win over Mateusz Gamrot. A year later, his high-profile clash with Justin Gaethje was scrapped, leaving fans waiting even longer to see ‘The Hangman’ back in the cage. Now he’s here again; rangy, gritty, and carrying that trademark pressure that turns every Hooker fight into a war.

Across from him stands Arman Tsarukyan, a contender who’s had his own delays. His title rematch with Islam Makhachev at UFC 311 vanished overnight after a back injury, and he hasn’t fought since edging out Charles Oliveira in at UFC 300. Between that layoff and his public push to fight Ilia Topuria, Tsarukyan arrives in Qatar with unfinished business and a point to make.

A year away for Hooker and a year of chaos for Tsarukyan. Now, their stories intersect, raising the question: will this matchup shake up the lightweight race all over again?

Dan Hooker and Arman Tsarukyan stats comparison

Dan Hooker brings a blend of volume, and technical long-range striking. Standing 6’0’’ with a 75-inch reach, he fights tall, switches stances to keep opponents guessing and uses his frame to deliver jabs, teeps, and punishing knees. With a 24-12 record that includes 11 knockouts and seven submissions, Hooker has always been a finisher at heart, even if it means taking risks to find openings. His numbers showcase his high tempo: he lands about 5.03 significant strikes per minute at roughly 48% accuracy, proving that he’s most dangerous when he controls distance and forces long exchanges.

The flip side is the damage he absorbs. Hooker takes around 4.72 significant strikes per minute, with a defensive rate of about 51%, which reflects his willingness to bite down and trade. Still, his durability and pace often allow him to push fights deep, employing full use of his knees, shots to the body, and relentless pressure to wear down his opponents. His takedown defense sits near 78%, which helps him keep fights standing, though his own offensive wrestling remains minimal, with just 0.73 takedowns per 15 minutes.

Hooker’s skill set thrives when he’s dictating space and rhythm using that long frame to punish entries and sap opponents in the clinch. But the same aggression and willingness to absorb shots can leave openings for faster or more explosive opponents.

Arman Tsarukyan steps in with a style built on pressure, athleticism, and overwhelming wrestling sequences. At 5’7’’ with a compact, explosive frame, he thrives on closing distance, initiating grappling exchanges, and chaining takedowns together before opponents can reset. With wins over elite names like Charles Oliveira and a reputation for giving Islam Makhachev one of his toughest UFC debuts, Tsarukyan’s 21-3 record reflects a fighter who has grown more well-rounded with every appearance. His striking has evolved and complements his wrestling; he no longer just shoots, he threatens everywhere.

His recent career has been chaotic, derailed by the back injury that canceled his UFC 311 title rematch with Makhachev just a day before the fight. Since then, he’s served as a backup at UFC 317 and watched the division move around him while he remained sidelined. But the win over Oliveira at UFC 300, one of the biggest of his career, remains proof of what he can do when he’s locked in: relentless top pressure, suffocating scrambles, and a pace that forces even seasoned strikers into survival mode. His only recent loss dates all the way back to Mateusz Gamrot in 2022, a razor-tight decision many still debate.

Right now, ‘Akhalkalakets’ sits at the center of lightweight conversations. Compared to Hooker, Tsarukyan brings a shorter, more explosive frame, a wrestling-heavy style, and a pace that can turn a technical fight into a grind within seconds.

The stylistic comparison between the two UFC lightweights

Hooker fights long, loose, and dangerous, using his 6’0’’ frame, 75-inch reach, and switch stance to poke, prod, and punish opponents from the outside. His best moments come when he owns the real estate in front of him: jabs flicking, teeps stabbing, and knees slicing through entries. Tsarukyan is the opposite. He doesn’t want space; he wants chaos at arm’s length, chaining takedown attempts, and dragging them through scrambles that drain their lungs and break their rhythm. One man tries to stretch the fight out; the other tries to shrink it into a phone booth.

Hooker will need to win this fight at range. If he’s allowed to keep the jab flowing, intercept Tsarukyan with knees, and force the Armenian contender to work hard for every entry, the rhythm swings toward him. His clinch weapons, thos11e sharp elbows and draining body shots, also give him answers when Tsarukyan gets too eager on level changes. But Hooker’s vulnerability to fast, explosive wrestlers is well documented, and Tsarukyan fits that mold perfectly. Once Arman gets a grip on the hips, the exchanges become suffocating, and Hooker’s tall frame becomes a liability instead of an advantage.

One of the most interesting threads is the Gamrot connection. Both men have shared the Octagon with Mateusz Gamrot, but they walked out with very different outcomes. Tsarukyan went to war with him in 2022 and lost a razor-close decision that many still debate to this day. Hooker, meanwhile, fought Gamrot in August 2024 and managed to grind out a hard-earned win after three grueling rounds. .

The UFC Qatar main event comes down to terrain. If Tsarukyan collapses the distance and turns this into a wrestling-heavy scrap, Hooker gets drowned. If Hooker keeps the fight tall, long, and punishing, Tsarukyan risks eating something brutal on the way in. Two approaches, two worlds, and whichever man drags the fight into his world will likely walk out with his hand raised.

Hooker and Tsarukyan: final prediction for UFC Qatar

This one’s a clash of planes: Dan Hooker’s long-range, high-tempo striking versus Arman Tsarukyan’s pressure, chain-wrestling, and takedown chaos. Hooker strolled in after a hard-fought split decision win over Mateusz Gamrot in August 2024 and saw a big matchup with Justin Gaethje collapse in early 2025 (Rafael Fiziev stepped in). Tsarukyan, meanwhile, has been orbiting the title picture he beat Charles Oliveira at UFC 300 in April 2024 but was forced to withdraw from his scheduled rematch with Islam Makhachev at UFC 311 due to a back injury.

Style matters more than names here. Hooker wants to keep the fight tall: jab, teep, switch stances, and punish entries with knees and long strikes, playing to his reach and volume. Tsarukyan’s game is the opposite: close the distance, chain takedowns, force scrambles, and sap opponents with sustained top pressure and relentless pace. When Tsarukyan succeeds, fights become ugly, grinding affairs where he turns offense into control; when Hooker succeeds, he turns entries into counters and punishes the walk-in.

Final prediction: Arman Tsarukyan by decision. Expect Tsarukyan to win the fight’s tempo; he’ll force repeated level-changes, make Hooker work to reset, and lean on superior chain wrestling and top control across the championship.