Dan Hooker claims he’s been told Arman Tsarukyan is injured ahead of their UFC Qatar main event

On Saturday night, Dan Hooker will finally face an opponent that he’s been targeting for a long time. Hooker will be hoping to prevent Arman Tsarukyan from proving himself to be the rightful top contender in the lightweight division once again. They’re set to face off in the main event of UFC Qatar in what will be long-overdue returns for both men following their canceled 2025 bouts due to injuries. While Hooker has claimed that he won’t hesitate to hit Tsarukyan before they step inside the Octagon, November 22 is right around the corner. However, ‘The Hangman’ recently claimed that his opponent’s preparations may have been more difficult than in the past. Who will win the UFC Qatar main event? Dan Hooker says he was told Arman Tsarukyan’s back is still an issue On the day before the event, Arman Tsarukyan withdrew from his UFC 311 lightweight title fight due to a back injury that he suffered during fight week. The challenger continued to fight through any pain that he was feeling but this only became worse once he started to cut weight, which eventually led to him making the decision to not fight. Since January, there has been a lot of talk about Tsarukyan getting a chance to prove to the UFC that he’s reliable and still deserving of a shot at the 155-pound gold. His opponent this Saturday, Dan Hooker, recently claimed that based on things he’s heard during fight week, Tsarukyan’s previous issues might not be behind him. ‘The Hangman’ said during an episode of ‘Pub Talk’ on The Mac Life that while he doesn’t know for sure, he’s heard rumblings of reoccurring back problems. “My friend went down to that fancy a– hotel… There’s like a spa or whatever, my friend went down there and got a massage and then got talking to the person and the lady massaging was like, ‘Oh yeah, I just massaged the other half of the main event this weekend. Yeah, I couldn’t go hard on his back. His back’s f—–.’ I was like, ‘Cheers, don’t get the lady fired’. I don’t think it’s a real secret that his back is f—–. No one’s back is magic. If someone has back issues, it’s pretty constant.”