The UFC on ESPN 52 lineup took a hit, as Dan Hooker has been forced out. Hooker was scheduled to meet Bobby Green in the co-main event on Saturday, December 2 from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.
Dan Hooker has been injured and is now out of a planned co-main event with Bobby Green at UFC on ESPN 52.
According to multiple sources, Hooker suffered an arm injury and will not be cleared in time to face Green. The bout was expected to be contested over five rounds.
It remains unknown at this time if a replacement to keep Green on the card will be found.
UFC On ESPN 52 Current Fight Card
As of now, the event is set to feature Beneil Dariush against Arman Tsarukyan in a lightweight contest live on ESPN and ESPN+ from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.
This marks the fifth visit for the promotion to Austin with the most recent coming in June 2022 with a main event between Calvin Kattar and Josh Emmett.
Hooker, a 33-year-old from New Zealand, scored back-to-back victories over Jalin Turner and Claudio Puelles since a pair of setbacks. He is 23-12 overall with 18 finishes in his career.
Green has not lost in his last three, going 2-0 with a no-contest. In October, he knocked out Grant Dawson in just 33 seconds, adding to a July submission win over Tony Ferguson.
The bout was to be the third non-title fight, non-main event five rounder for the UFC.
Other currently scheduled fights include Rob Font vs. former champion Deiveson Figueiredo, Sean Brady vs. Kelvin Gastelum, Punahele Soriano vs. Dustin Stoltzfus and Khalil Rountree Jr. vs. Azamat Murzakanov.
On the prelims, Clay Guida meets Joaquim Silva and ex-champion Miesha Tate battles Julia Avila.