UFC 313 Sees Lightweight Fight Dropped Due To Injury

UFC 313 just took a massive hit to its main card lineup only barely a week before the event is to take place.     

Hand Injury Nixes Highly-Anticipated Lightweight Scrap in UFC 313

Originally expected to square off with former UFC Interim Lightweight Champion Justin Gaethje in the co-main event of UFC 313, Dan Hooker has just been forced to withdraw from the contest due to injuring his hand. Appearing in a video posted on his daughter’s YouTube channel, the New Zealand striker stated that his bout with “The Highlight” at UFC 313 is off after hurting his hand.

“Dad had a fight, or was supposed to have a fight, but I’ve busted my paw,” Hooker said.  

Dan Hooker Talks Postponement of UFC 313 Co-Main Event

Hooker (24-12 MMA, 14-8 UFC) would later sit down with Sky Sports New Zealand to further discuss the extent of his condition and what caused it, revealing that he had injured his hand in training camp while sparring.

“One of the paws is not doing too well,” he said. “I was sparring last night, as I do, just letting some hooks go, just throwing some bombs down range, and I just caught one of the boys on the top of the dome with my knuckle. I don’t think too much of it but they sent me off to get a CT scan. Had a little CT scan and they told me my hand is fractured.” 

“So yeah, I obviously still would fight, but with the medicals they squeeze your hands and (pretends to yell in pain,)” he continued. “So we’ll see how it all plays out. We’ll see if we can kick this fight down the road or we’ll just wait and see.”

Can Penultimate Bout of UFC 313 Be Salvaged?

In what was supposed to be his grand return to competition following a late fifth-round knockout to Max Holloway at UFC 300 last year, Gaethje’s (25-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) fate on the card remains in question. At the time of this writing, there has been no official replacement announced by the UFC. However, several other top 155-lb names have already started to throw their names into the hat, including Rafael Fiziev , Mateusz Gamrot and Renato Moicano. 

Last seen in the cage over a year ago at UFC Vegas 79 in 2023, Fiziev suffered a grisly second round TKO to Gamrot after popping his knee on the Pole’s elbow attempting to kick him. He also fought Gaethje earlier that year at UFC 286, losing to the American by majority decision. 

Competing last at UFC 305 this past August, Gamrot crossed paths with Hooker in what ended up becoming the card’s Fight of the Night. Managing to bloody the New Zealander, Gamrot gave Hooker one of his toughest fights in recent years, ultimately losing a competitive split decision.

Stepping up on just over a day’s notice at UFC 311 last month, Moicano vied for the lightweight championship against the reigning pound-for-pound best fighter on the planet, Islam Makhachev. Filling in for an injured Arman Tsarukyan in the main event, Moicano was quickly submitted by the dominant Dagestani in just four minutes by D’arce choke.