Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight Dan Hooker finally returns to action next weekend (Sat., Nov. 22, 2025) against heated rival Arman Tsarukyan in the main event of UFC Qatar, taking place inside ABHA Arena in Doha, Qatar.
But before he throws hands in the cage, “The Hangman” needs a trip to the dentist.
That’s because Hooker chipped his front tooth during sparring — and, unsurprisingly, he wasn’t wearing a mouthguard at the time.
“[Training has been good]. I got a bit sick last week, I smashed my front tooth out — I gotta go fix it tomorrow,” Hooker told Combat TV recently. “It happened in training, and I had just found my mouthguard that day! I hadn’t found my mouthguard in a year — it’s been missing since the Gamrot fight. I don’t train with a mouthguard. I found it, but it was still covered in blood from the Gamrot fight, so I just glazed it off and was like, ‘I’ll wear it next time, mate,’ and then boom — the day I find it is the day I smash my front tooth. But it’s already dead, they’ll just put more shit on it.”
Now healthy (well, mostly), the 35-year-old returns riding a three-fight win streak, having defeated Mateusz Gamrot, Jalin Turner, and Claudio Puelles in his recent resurgence.
Standing across from him will be Tsarukyan — one of the most dangerous young contenders in the division, who is finally out of UFC purgatory. The Armenian-Russian powerhouse has won five of his last six, including impressive performances over Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush, and is hunting for another title shot.
Still, tooth or no tooth, expect fireworks when these two finally meet in Qatar.