Overview
- UFC stages its first card in Qatar today on ESPN+, headlined by Arman Tsarukyan vs. Dan Hooker in a bout widely framed as a lightweight title eliminator.
- At Friday’s ceremonial face-off, Tsarukyan lunged and struck Hooker with a head butt before UFC staff and security separated them, and the fight remained on.
- Both fighters successfully made weight for the main event, with Tsarukyan at 156 pounds and Hooker at 155.
- Tsarukyan told a backstage interviewer he reacted because Hooker ‘tried to scare’ him; scrutiny is heightened given his past NSAC suspension over a UFC 300 walkout incident.
- Possible penalties from the Qatar Mixed Martial Arts Committee were flagged after the altercation, while betting markets still list Tsarukyan as a clear favorite (around -625 per BetMGM).