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UFC 243 is already turning out to be one of the biggest pay-per-view of the year and another highly awaited Lightweight bout has been confirmed for the event, as Dan 'The Hangman' Hooker is set to face 'Raging' Al Iaquinta.
Al Iaquinta's last UFC outings
Al Iaquinta last competed in the UFC at Fight Night 151 when he lost to Donald Cerrone on 4th May, 2019. Prior to his fight against Cerrone, Iaquinta had defeated former interim UFC Lightweight Title challenger Kevin Lee at UFC on Fox 31.
At UFC 223, Iaquinta stepped in as a replacement against Khabib Nurmagomedov in the five-round UFC Lightweight Championship title fight. Despite the fight being for the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship, only Nurmagomedov was eligible to win the championship due to Iaquinta not being able to make weight.
Khabib eventually defeated Iaquinta via split decision to win the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship.
Dan Hooker's rise in the UFC
Having made his UFC debut in 2014 at UFC Fight Night 43, Dan Hooker is currently on an impressive six-fight winning streak having defeated Ross Pearson, Marc Diakiese, Jim Miller, Gilbert Burns, Edson Barboza, and James Vick in his last six Octagon outings.
Hooker last competed in the Octagon at UFC on ESPN 4 when he defeated James Vick via first-round knockout, in a performance which also earned him the Performance of the Night bonus.
Al Iaquinta vs Dan Hooker at UFC 243
Up and coming Lightweight fighters Al Iaquinta and Dan Hooker have been taking back-and-forth shots at each other for the past few months and in a latest Instagram post from UFC's official handle, the Lightweight bout was officially confirmed for the upcoming UFC 243 event in Melbourne, Australia.
UFC 243: Date and Location
UFC 243 will be taking place on the 6th of October, 2019 at the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia and the event will be headlined by Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya for the UFC Middleweight Championship.
