New Zealand's first home-based UFC fighter, Daniel Hooker, is heading to Las Vegas for the next stop on what he hopes is a journey to UFC gold.
'The Hangman' is coming off a career-defining knockout win over veteran Brit striker Ross Pearson in Auckland in June, which improved his career record to 14 wins and seven losses.
Newshub can reveal that Hooker will fight highly touted prospect Marc Diakiese at UFC 219 on December 31 (NZT) in Las Vegas.
The fight night includes the return of former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, who takes on fellow American Jimmie Rivera in a title eliminator.
Diakiese lost for the first time in his career last time out against American Drakkar Klose in one of the most exciting fights of 2017.
Born in Congo, the 24-year-old fights out of Manchester, England, and is regarded as one of the best technical strikers in the UFC, having drawn comparisons with the great Anderson Silva.
Hooker has yet to experience back-to-back success in the UFC, having swapped wins and losses since his debut in 2014.
The 27-year-old's first seven outings in the UFC were at featherweight, but the recent win over Pearson saw the Kiwi step up to the lightweight division - the natural fight weight for Hooker.
The Aucklander told Newshub after the fight that he had never felt in better fight shape.
"I'm never going back to featherweight, mate," he laughed.
"I just felt strong, I felt fit. I felt like a completely different fighter.
"I felt like myself, pretty much. That's how I train, that's how I compete in the gym.
"I feel like I barely just scratched the surface, I didn't get tired at any stretch of that fight."
The headline fight for UFC 219 is yet to be announced, although lightweight champion Conor McGregor has been linked to the event.
Newshub.
