Marc Diakiese vs. Dan Hooker slated for UFC 219

Marc Diakiese will get a chance to get back to winning ways following his first career loss to Drakkar Klose when he faces fellow prospect Dan Hooker at UFC 219 on Dec. 30 in Las Vegas.

The UFC announced the fight through social media networks on Tuesday morning.

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Diakiese and Hooker have been going back and forth on Twitter over the last few days, talking about how much they would like to face off against each other. Hooker initially called for a fight with either Diakiese or Steven Ray before both men claimed that they had been booked for a fight.

“The Bonecrusher” is considered one of the greatest prospects coming out of the UFC having joined the promotion on the back of a sensation 9-0 career. Before signing with the UFC, Diakiese put himself in the market window with two stunning first-round knockouts under the BAMMA banner.

Since joining the UFC last year, Diakiese has gone 3-1 with the promotion. So far, the Doncaster resident has taken wins from Lukasz Sajewski, Frankie Perez and Teemu Packalen. The lightweight’s first loss came to Klose back in June when he dropped a split decision.

Although he hasn’t been able to string two consecutive wins together with the UFC as of yet, Hooker has proved himself to be a very versatile and exciting fighter.

The New Zealander has gone 4-3 since signing with the UFC. Although he used to compete at featherweight, Hooker returned to lightweight in his last outing and scored a spectacular knockout win over Ross Pearson – the biggest win of his career to date.

Having come up short against prospects like Yair Rodriguez in the past, Diakiese could be the perfect scalp to introduce “The Hangman” to high-profile bouts in the division.