Dan Hooker’s comeback at UFC Qatar this past weekend was not an easy one. After over a year of inactivity and another cycle of injuries, ‘The Hangman’ found himself in a very demanding main-event situation with Arman Tsarukyan and got completely overpowered. Tsarukyan went through the exchanges, kicked Hooker’s legs, and later in the second round, caught him in an arm-triangle choke, which made Hooker tap out. Nevertheless, Hooker was still laughing, groggy, self-ironic, and very much himself, the guy who would chase after any fight even if it broke his bones. To clarify, he had already aborted his last fight against Justin Gaethje at UFC 313 in March as a result of a hand injury.

The irony is crazy. Early this year, in January, it was Tsarukyan who missed a chance to fight Islam Makh

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