Dan Hooker vs. Marc Diakiese booked for UFC 219

Dan Hooker vs. Marc Diakiese booked for UFC 219

Lightweights Dan Hooker and Marc Diakiese at UFC 219 in Las Vegas.

The UFC’s end-of-2017 pay-per-view card is slowly but surely coming together.

UFC officials announced on Tuesday that lightweight Daniel Hooker will take on Marc Diakiese at UFC 219 on December 30th. It’s a matchup between a fighter coming off a win (Hooker) and one looking to rebound from a loss (Diakiese).

Hooker (14-7) has alternated wins and losses in his six-fight UFC stint. The 27-year-old crushed Ross Pearson with a brutal knee at UFC Auckland in his native New Zealand. That win also marked a return to the lightweight division for Hooker, who’d fought his previous bouts inside the Octagon as a featherweight, including a memorable KO of former contender Hatsu Hioki.

Diakiese (12-1) is a highly-touted prospect out of England who has been praised for his entertaining style, but he did see his undefeated record come to an end in his last fight, as Drakkar Klose was able to win a unanimous decision at the TUF 25 Finale in July. The 24-year-old debuted in the UFC last year, TKOing Łukasz Sajewski at UFC 204, winning by decision over Frankie Perez at UFC Albany in December, and then scoring this outrageous one-punch KO of Teemu Packalen at UFC London this past March.

UFC 219 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. No main event has been announced, although fans should expect some news on that within the next few weeks.