UFC Fight Night 204: Arnold Allen vs. Dan Hooker Picks and Predictions

Arnold Allen and Dan Hooker face off on Saturday in a featherweight showdown in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 204 at the O2 Arena in London, England. 

Arnold Allen comes into this fight with a 17-1 record and since coming into the UFC he has won eight fights in a row. Allen has had quite an impressive career but this is a step up in competition, and it’s going to be a tough battle. Allen’s last fight came against Sodiq Yusuff and although he was outstruck he did have one knockdown, and that was enough to win by unanimous decision. Allen is averaging 2.96 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 2.15 significant strikes per minute. He will also try to get the fight to the ground averaging 1.44 takedowns every 15 minutes and he is successful on 50 percent of those attempts. He also stops 76 percent of his opponents takedown attempts.

On the other side of this matchup is Dan Hooker who sits with a 21-11 record overall but he has lost three of the last four fights. In Hooker’s last fight against Islam Makhachev and halfway through the first round he lost by submission. Three fights ago against Michael Chandler he lost by knockout. Hooker is averaging 4.90 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 4.61 significant strikes per minute. Hooker at times will try to get the fight to the ground averaging 0.90 takedowns every 15 minutes. He is only successful on 36 percent of his takedown attempts but he stops 78 percent of his opponents takedown attempts.