Dan Hooker and Benoit Saint Denis meet in the co-main event of Saturday’s UFC 325 at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.
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Last event’s results: 3-2
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UFC main cards, 2026: 3-2
Dan Hooker vs. Benoit Saint Denis UFC 325 preview
Hooker (24-13 MMA, 14-9 UFC) will look to get back on track after a submission loss to Arman Tsarukyan in November. That fight ended a three-fight winning streak for Hooker, which included a stoppage of Claudio Puelles and a pair of split nods over Jalin Turner and Mateusz Gamrot.
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Saint Denis (16-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) enters on a three-fight winning streak, which includes stoppages of Kyle Prepolec, Mauricio Ruffy, and Beneil Dariush. Saint Denis hasn’t tasted defeat since a doctor’s stoppage TKO against Renato Moicano in September 2024.
Dan Hooker vs. Benoit Saint Denis UFC 325 expert pick, prediction
The co-main event in Sydney features a lightweight action fight between Dan Hooker and Benoit Saint-Denis.
Both fighters are making relatively quick turnarounds to make this match happen, but it should be fun for as long as it lasts.
Although I don’t disagree with Saint-Denis being favored to win, I also feel compelled to point out that the Frenchman has traditionally struggled when stepping up toward the upper hemisphere of ranked fighters.
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Saint-Denis’ aggression has also made him susceptible to counters, so I’ll be curious to see how much respect he has for Hookers knees and front-chokes alike. That said, I believe Saint-Denis has a fairly clear path to victory he can pursue.
A powerful pressure fighter with a strong grappling game, Saint-Denis has the tools to replicate the successes that other fighters have found against Hooker. However, if Saint-Denis fails to douse Hooker with heavy damage early or find a finish by the eight-minute mark, then I could see the proverbial steering wheel swinging pretty drastically toward the New Zealander’s direction.
Still, with Saint-Denis taking a lot less damage in what was technically a wider rest window, I find it hard to pick against the “God of War” in this spot.
It’s dog or pass from a betting perspective, but I’ll officially pick Saint-Denis to secure a submission in Round 2.
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Dan Hooker vs. Benoit Saint Denis UFC 325 odds
The oddsmakers and the public favor the French fighter, listing Saint-Denis -320 and Hooker +225 via FanDuel.
Dan Hooker vs. Benoit Saint Denis UFC 325 start time, how to watch
As the co-main event, Hooker and Saint Denis are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 9:40 p.m. ET. The fight streams live on Paramount+.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 325: Dan Hooker vs. Benoit Saint Denis prediction, start time