This is a fun fight to break down because it is almost a mirror image of Hooker's last matchup and the fight could look identical as well. Dan Hooker could get taken down early, stay tough and then take over the fight. Dan Hooker is a dying breed of savage. He is up there with Poirier, Gathje and Holloway as a gamer who will never back down. There are a couple of things at play here. Both of these guys are coming off extended layoffs, Hooker had a bad hand injury and Arman pretended his back hurt because he couldn't make weight. We also have 5 rounds which can fundamentally change both of their gameplans and a random athletic commission who might screw up a decision. I don't know how much wrestling does or does not matter to these judges because I have zero doubt that Arman will get takedowns and rack up control, I also have no doubt that Dan Hooker will make it a dog fight on the feet and not stop coming forward. This is a fun scrap, but i am going to slightly lean Arman because of his ability to get this to the ground of he needs to. He has better striking and better ground control than Gamrot which should benefit him here. Arman is the pick, but a +5.5 bet on Dan is probably a winner.

Arman Tsarukyan

Arman Tsarukan is an incredible wrestler who has managed to piece together a very nice striking game as well. He uses nice footwork and setups for both his strikes and takedowns. He's athletic and will mix in kicks very fluidly. He is the new generation of lightweight with beast wrestling and very good striking. He is coming off the win over Charles Oliveira where he got the takedowns and managed to stay safe despite a few submission scares.

Dan Hooker

Dan Hooker is a very good striker with an enormous amount of heart, we saw it in his last fight and many others as well. He is a long rangy kickboxer who uses his kicks well to manage distance. He's sharp and technical but can at times get sucked into fire fights. His takedown defense is solid at 78% and it was on full display in his last fight. He is coming off the upset win over Mateusz Gamrot where he took over late with takedown defense and forward pressure.