UFC
Austin will feature a double main event of sorts.
UFC CEO Dana White announced late Monday night that a lightweight
clash between
Beneil
Dariush and
Arman
Tsarukyan will serve as the main event for the Dec. 2 card.
Meanwhile,
Bobby Green
and
Dan
Hooker will square off in another five-round, 155-pound pairing
in the evening’s co-headliner.
UFC Fight Night takes place at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas,
and also includes a bantamweight showdown pitting
Rob Font
against ex-flyweight king
Deiveson
Figueiredo as well as a welterweight tilt between
Sean Brady
and
Kelvin
Gastelum.
Dariush compiled an eight-fight winning streak in the Octagon to
find himself on the brink of a title shot before suffering a
first-round TKO defeat against
Charles
Oliveira at UFC 289 in his most recent outing on June 10. The
Kings MMA product’s resume includes wins over the likes of
Mateusz
Gamrot,
Tony
Ferguson,
Drew Dober,
Thiago
Moises,
Jim Miller
and
Michael
Johnson.
Tsarukyan, meanwhile, has been victorious in seven of nine
promotional appearances, with his only two defeats coming against
Gamrot and reigning lightweight champ
Islam
Makhachev. After falling to Gamrot in the UFC on ESPN 38
headliner, the 27-year-old American Top Team export has rebounded
to post back-to-back triumphs against
Damir
Ismagulov and
Joaquim
Silva.
A veteran of 47 professional bouts, Green turned heads when he
knocked out surging lightweight
Grant
Dawson in 33 seconds at UFC Fight Night 229 on Oct. 7. Green’s
2023 campaign has also included a third-round submission of
Ferguson at UFC 291 and a no contest against
Jared
Gordon at UFC Fight Night 222.
Hooker has built a reputation as one of the UFC’s most reliable
action fighters. After losing four of five outings from July 2020
to March 2022, “Hangman” has recovered to score consecutive
triumphs over
Claudio
Puelles and
Jalin
Turner. The City Kickboxing standout has also bested the likes
of
Nasrat
Haqparast,
Paul Felder,
Al
Iaquinta and
Gilbert
Burns during his promotional tenure.