Breaking! UFC 243 adds a key lightweight bout between perennial division contenders Al Iaquinta and Dan Hooker

October’s UFC 243 event in Melbourne, Australia continues to take shape with the addition of a key lightweight bout between Al Iaquinta and Dan Hooker.

ESPN‘s Ariel Helwani was first to report news of the matchup, stating that both sides of verbally agreed to the fight.

Al Iaquinta vs. Dan Hooker verbally agreed for UFC 243 on Oct. 5 in Melbourne, Australia, according to sources — https://t.co/3XjKwBc8il

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) August 12, 2019

UFC 243 takes place October 5 live from Marvel Stadium in beatiful Melbourne, Australia.

Al Iaquinta (14-5-1 MMA) will return to the Octagon for the first time since suffering a unanimous decision loss to Donald ‘Cowboy‘ Cerrone in the headliner of May’s UFC Fight Night event in Ottawa.

‘Raging Al’ has gone 6-2 over his past eight fights, scoring wins over Ross Pearson, Joe Lauzon, Jorge Masvidal, Diego Sanchez and Kevin Lee during that stretch.

Meanwhile, Dan Hooker (18-8 MMA) will enter UFC 243 looking to build off the momentum of his recent knockout victory over James Vick. ‘The Hangman’ has gone 5-1 over his past six Octagon appearances, with his lone loss in that time coming to Edson Barboza via third round TKO.

Image Credit: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

UFC 243 is headlined by a middleweight title unification bout as current interim title holder Israel Adesanya challenges reigning division champ Robert Whittaker.

The pay-per-view event will also feature the return of former women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm, who will be rematching former title challenger Raquel Pennington.

Who do you think will emerge victorious when Al Iaquinta and Dan Hooker square off on the main card of October’s UFC 241 event in Melbourne, Australia? Sound off in the comments section PENN Nation!

August 11, 2019