Hooker vs. Puelles, ‘Moicano’ vs. Riddell Added to UFC 281 Lineup in New York

Two lightweight matchups have been added to the UFC 281 card, as Dan Hooker will square off against Claudio Puelles, while Renato Carneiro will lock horns with Brad Riddell.

Promotion broadcast partner ESPN confirmed Hooker vs. Puelles following an initial report from Fordewin MMA. Meanwhile, Carneiro’s management was first to announce the matchup with Riddell.

Hooker has lost four of his last five Octagon appearances. The 32-year-old City Kickboxing representative will return to 155 pounds on the heels of a first-round TKO loss to Arnold Allen at featherweight in his most recent outing at UFC Fight Night 204 on March 19.

Puelles, meanwhile, has been on a roll since falling to Martin Bravo in his promotional debut. The “Prince of Peru” has been victorious in five straight Octagon appearances, including a first-round kneebar of Clay Guida at UFC Fight Night 205 on April 23.

“Moicano” had a two-bout winning streak snapped in his last fight, when he dropped a five-round verdict to Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 272. Prior to that, the Brazilian had scored back-to-back submission victories against Alexander Hernandez and Jai Herbert.

Riddell began his UFC tenure with four consecutive victories but has since been finished in back-to-back fights. Most recently, the 30-year-old New Zealand native tapped to a Jalin Turner guillotine choke in 45 seconds at UFC 276 on July 2.

UFC 281 takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York on Nov. 12 and is headlined by a middelweight title clash between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira. The Las Vegas-based promotion confirmed three more fights in release on Tuesday: Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Silvana Gomez Juarez at strawweight; Matt Frevola vs. Ottman Azaitar at lightweight and Michael Trizano vs. Seung Woo Choi at featherweight.