The UFC heads to Paris on Saturday as one of the most hyped fighters outside of the organisation, Salahdine Parnasse, makes his Octagon debut against Dan Hooker.
The former KSW two-weight world champion will be looking to make a statement in front of his home crowd against the chaotic Australian.
Dan Hooker v Salahdine Parnasse Preview
The moment of truth arrives for Parnasse (23-2-0) on Saturday as the 28-year-old Frenchman is thrown into a hometown main event against Hooker (24-14-0).
Parnasse has long been rated one of the most exciting European prospects following a 14-2 run in KSW where he held both the Featherweight and Lightweight belts.
The highly-rated star left his former promotion following a five-fight run as the 155lb champion, winning all five of those contests by KO/TKO.
Parnasse then followed that up with a first-round stoppage of Kenneth Cross in his American debut on May's MVP MMA card on Netflix.
Hooker has long been a staple of the UFC and has been involved in several memorable wars, most notably a blood-spilt win against Paul Felder and loss to Dustin Poirier.
An all-or-nothing fighter, the 36-year-old has a 14-10 Octagon record, having fought a who's who at both Lightweight and Featherweight.
Hooker arrives in Paris following back-to-back stoppage defeats to Benoit Saint Denis (TKO, R2) in January and Arman Tsarukyan (Sub, R2) last November.
Before that, the veteran had moved back to the Lightweight division with three-straight wins over Claudio Puelles (TKO, R2), Jalin Turner (SD) and Mateusz Gamrot (SD).
A long-range kickboxer, Hooker lands 84% of his UFC significant strikes at distance and lands 4.82 significant strikes per minute but crucially absorbs 4.94 per minute.
Parnasse’s six-fight stoppage streak shows he has power, while six pro submissions from his 20 wins show he is also a threat on the ground.
Parnasse brings explosiveness, quick combinations and the ability to mix striking with grappling; a debut win on Saturday would put him straight in the top 10 and add some extra fire to the already red-hot lightweight division.
Dan Hooker v Salahdine Parnasse Tale of the Tape
Dan Hooker | Salahdine Parnasse | |
Record: | 24-14 | 23-2 |
Age: | 36 | 28 |
Birthplace: | Auckland, New Zealand | France |
Height: | 6' 0" | 5'10" |
Stance: | Switch | Southpaw |
Last Fight: | Loss (TKO, R2) v Benoit Saint Denis, Jan 26 | Win (TKO, R1) v Kenny Cross, MVP MMA 1, May 26 |
KO%: | 46% (of wins) | 70% (of wins) |
Alias: | Hangman | Lion of Atlas |
Dan Hooker v Salahdine Parnasse Top Tip
Bet Builder: Salahdine Parnasse to win by KO, TKO, DQ or Submission & under 2.5 rounds @ 20/23
Parnasse is likely to come out of the gate fast and will be at his most dangerous in the first two and a half rounds.
For Hooker, he must survive the initial explosion and try to drag the Frenchman into a drawn-out war, where it would become more of a shootout.
With the Poirier and Felder fights now six years ago, the concern is whether the Australian can still handle so much damage at this stage of his career, particularly after suffering back-to-back stoppage losses, including a TKO defeat to Benoit Saint Denis last time out.
Parnasse brings technical striking with an excellent kicking game and works the body well, while he also checks boxes with his grappling and submission threat.
Both bring main event experience but Parnasse's championship run in KSW gives him the edge and he could well find an opening to end this within the distance.
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
