UFC matchmakers are once again working overtime.
Just days after it was confirmed that an arm injury has removed Dan Hooker from his scheduled December 2 bout opposite Bobby Green, UFC CEO Dana White has confirmed that Jalin Turner has filled that gap in the fight which will serve as the co-main event of UFC’s latest event in Austin, Texas, according to a report by MMA Fighting.
Turner last competed, coincidentally, against Hooker back in July in a fight he lost to the Kiwi by split decision. That bout had originally been intended to take place months prior but was delayed after Hooker withdrew due to injury, again to his arm. Green, meanwhile, comes into the rearranged contest after earning successive stoppage victories against Grant Dawson and Tony Ferguson.
The Hooker-Green fight was expected to take place across five rounds but due to Turner’s late addition to the card, it will now be a three-round fight.
Prior to his defeat to Hooker, Turner was defeated, also by split decision, by the well-regarded lightweight Mateusz Gamrot. Prior to that, the 28-year-old California native won five straight fights — all by finish — in the UFC cage.