Mark Diakiese returns at UFC 219 against Dan Hooker

The UFC's December 30th card from Las Vegas continues to add great fights, the latest of which is a lightweight scrap between Mark Diakiese and Dan Hooker. New Zealand outlet Newshub was first to announce the fight.

Diakiese is a hot UK prospect whose perfect record was marred for the first time back in July with a split decision loss to Drakkar Klose. Before that he compiled a 12-0 streak including violent finishes of Teemu Packalen and Lukasz Sajewski in the UFC.

New Zealand's Hooker is coming off a Performance of the Night winning knockout of Ross Pearson at UFC Fight Night Auckland back in June. While his record is a checkered 4-3 with the promotion, his losses come to names like Yair Rodriguez and Jason Knight. The UFC either really likes or dislikes Hooker, as Diakiese is another really tough fight for him.

UFC 219 currently doesn't have a main event, but it's pretty common knowledge that the promotion is hoping to headline it with a Conor McGregor vs. Tony Ferguson lightweight title unification bout. Even if that doesn't come together, the rest of the card is looking pretty damn good. Here's how things are shaping up as of now:

• Dominick Cruz vs. Jimmie Rivera
• Cynthia Calvillo vs. Carla Esparza
• Matheus Nicolau vs. Louis Smolka
• Carlos Condit vs. Neil Magny
• Khalil Rountree vs. Gokhan Saki
• Rick Glenn vs. Myles Jury
• Emil Meek vs. Kamaru Usman
• Marc Diakiese vs. Dan Hooker