Hooker vs Ortega: Two Fighters Who Need a Win in Doha

Dan Hooker chose the quick turnaround himself, and it lands him back in the arena where Arman Tsarukyan submitted him in the second round last November. On November 21 he meets Brian Ortega at lightweight on the same card at ABHA Arena.

Both men need this one. Hooker, 36, ranked thirteenth at lightweight, has lost three in a row, all by stoppage — Tsarukyan in Doha, Benoit Saint Denis in Sydney, Salahdine Parnasse in Paris in September. Three fights, three stoppages, eleven months. Ortega, 35, has won once in his last four, and the man who beat him in August 2025, Aljamain Sterling, fights in the co-main event here. This is also Ortega's first fight at lightweight after a career at featherweight.

Eleven of Hooker's 24 wins are knockouts, eight of Ortega's 16 are submissions, and Ortega has never been submitted himself. Hooker and Navajo Stirling train out of the same Auckland gym, and it is Stirling who headlines the night. UFC Fight Night Doha tickets.