Former interim lightweight champion, Justin Gaethje has opened as a betting favorite to snap the impressive winning run of fellow divisional contender, Dan Hooker at UFC 313 in March — with the duo officially slated to go to war over the course of five rounds in the event’s co-headliner.
Gaethje, who remains the number three rank in the official lightweight pile, will make his return to the Octagon for the first time in eleven months when he draws Kiwi striker, Hooker at UFC 313.
Sidelined since April of last year, former interim champion, Gaethje lost the symbolic BMF championship in dramatic fashion against ex-featherweight pacesetter, Max Holloway at UFC 300, in the form of a buzzer-beating fifth round knockout defeat.
Justin Gaethje opens as betting favorite to beat Dan Hooker
And ahead of UFC 313, fans of both the Crazy Time app and betting can currently find Arizona native, Justin Gaethje as an impressive -155 betting favorite to defeat Dan Hooker — with the City Kickboxing mainstay boasting underdog odds currently of +130.
Himself riding an eye-catching three-fight winning run into his potential title eliminator against Gaethje, number five ranked lightweight challenger, Hooker most recently turned in an impressive unanimous decision win over Polish star, Mateusz Gamrot on the main card of UFC 305 in Australia last summer.
Prior to that, Auckland native, Hooker had edged out Jalin Turner in a decision win, after returning to the lightweight division with a bang against Peruvian grappler, Claudio Puelles — turning in an impressive body kick TKO stoppage win.
And ahead of his pairing with Gaethje, Hooker has played up his chances of upsetting the apple cart and the bookies to boot, claiming he is a very “dangerous” matchup for the veteran action fighter.
“I’m a Justin Gaethje fan, and yeah, obviously appreciate him taking this fight, obviously,” Dan Hooker told during a recent interview. “Like, it’s a dangerous fight for him. I respect them for I respect them for accepting this fight. When I feel like there would have been easier fights for him out there. So credit credit to him and his team.”
“He’s got some beautiful counters, some beautiful leads and yeah, I think his skill is, is often underestimated by a lot of fans, which I feel like, as is mine,” Dan Hooker explained. “Yeah, it’s it’s more. Like, I know full well that it’s two fighters in there that are either going to win or guard on the shield; they’re going to die trying. There’s two fighters that that step in. They’re prepared to die and have accepted that and who are at peace with that. That’s why the fans are so excited for this fight and That’s why I’m excited for this flight. So it’s it’s either win or I go out swinging. That’s that’s the two ways at this end.”
Looking to potentially earn himself a long-mooted title fight with pound-for-pound kingpin, Islam Makhachev, Gaethje nabbed the interim lightweight crown back in 2020 in Florida, snapping the division-best twelve-fight winning spree of former interim champion, Tony Ferguson with an eventual fifth round strikes stoppage win in a gruelling main event clash.
