Dana White discusses the future of Dan Hooker following his loss at UFC London

Dana White discussed what could be next for Dan Hooker after ‘The Hangman’ suffered another first round loss at UFC London.

Hooker (21-12 MMA) returned to the featherweight division tonight, this after dropping three of his last four fights at lightweight. During that rough stretch, ‘The Hangman’ had suffered first round stoppage losses at the hands of Islam Makhachev and Michael Chandler.

Standing in the way of Dan Hooker’s return to the win column was streaking featherweight contender Arnold Allen. ‘Almighty’ had entered tonight’s co-headliner sporting a ten-fight winning streak, which included Octagon victories over the likes of Gilbert Melendez, Nik Lentz and Sodiq Yusuff.

Tonight’s UFC London co-main event proved to be an absolute slugfest, with Dan Hooker taking the brunt of those punches. Arnold Allen was able to connect with a good combination early but then appeared to be clipped by a counter punch from ‘The Hangman’. Despite that, Allen pressed forward and proceeded to unleash a plethora of heavy strikes which ultimately forced the referee to step in and stop the contest.

Arnold Allen TKO’s Dan Hooker at UFC London

Official UFC London Result: Arnold Allen def. Dan Hooker via TKO (punches) in Round 1

During tonight’s post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White was asked what could be next for the fan favorite in Hooker and if he believes ‘The Hangman’ should move back up to lightweight.

“That’s up to him,” White said. “He came in and performed tonight. He made weight. He came in and went to war with a guy who is undefeated in this weight class and he can do whatever he wants to do.”

It will be interesting to see what Dan Hooker’s next move ends up being. The Kiwi has gone just 1-4 over his past five fights, but all of those contests have come against elite competition.

Who would you like to see Dana White and company match Hooker up with next?