UFC 313 now has one of those matchups that gets the “That has Fight of the Night written all over it” attachment.
Justin Gaethje wanted a fight against Dan Hooker. He wanted it at UFC 313. If you have 13 post-fight bonuses in 13 UFC fights, you get what you ask for more often than not.
Gaethje (25-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) and Hooker (24-12 MMA, 14-8 UFC) will throw down in a five-round co-main event at UFC 313 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) on March 8 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The UFC announced the matchup during Saturday’s UFC 311 broadcast. The bout will play second billing to a light heavyweight title fight between champion Alex Pereira and Magomeda Ankalaev, which also was announced Saturday.
Gaethje, 36, hasn’t fought since a now-legendary knockout loss to Max Holloway at UFC 300 in April 2024.
New Zealand’s Hooker, 34, has been on the rebound with three straight wins after a rough patch of four losses in five fights. Most recently, he had a Fight of the Night upset win over Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 305 this past August.
With the addition, the UFC 313 lineup now includes:
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Champ Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev – for light heavyweight title
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Justin Gaethje vs. Dan Hooker
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Amanda Lemos vs. Iasmin Lucindo
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Bruno Silva vs. Joshua Van
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Brunno Ferreira vs. Armen Petrosyan
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Chris Gutierrez vs. Jean Matsumoto
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Francis Marshall vs. Mairon Santos
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Carlos Leal vs. Alex Morono
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Ozzy Diaz vs. Djorden Santos
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Jhonata Diniz vs. Vitor Petrino
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 313.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Justin Gaethje books date with Dan Hooker at UFC 313 in Las Vegas
