Booked to make his own Octagon return at UFC 290 next weekend during International Fight Week, lightweight contender, Dan Hooker has scoffed at the return of the symbolic BMF championship atop a UFC 291 card next month – revealing he would be less than proud to hold the symbolic belt.
Hooker, a staple of City Kickboxing, has been sidelined since he featured at UFC 281 back in November at Madison Square Garden, snapping a two-fight losing skid to both lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, and Arnold Allen – with a third round body kick TKO win over Peruvian upstart, Claudio Puelles.
And booked to return at UFC 285 earlier this year in March, Hooker was forced from an eye-catching clash with fellow contender, Jalin Turner, citing a hand injury – subsequently replaced by Polish contender, Mateusz Gamrot.
Dan Hooker mocks the return of a symbolic BMF championship
Booked to meet Turner next weekend in a rescheduled fight at UFC 290, Hooker has shared his thoughts on the end-of-month rematch between former interim champions, Dustin Poirier, and Justin Gaethje at UFC 291 – mocking the inclusion of a symbolic BMF belt to boot.
“That’s why it’s a little bit of a silly fight, you know what I mean?” Dan Hooker said during an appearance on Freestylebender. “We’re prizefighters at the end of the day. Nah. What does it actually mean though?”
“Of course, I’d take it because there’s money that comes with it, which is the main objective of doing it,” Dan Hooker explained. “But having a BMF title and hanging that on my wall, and being proud of that is like not the same as a world title. I’d probably it under the bed or something like that.”
A fan-favorite striker under the banner of the UFC, Kiwi native, Hooker has landed notable victories over the likes of Ross Pearson, Jim Miller, Gilbert Burns, James Vick, Al Iaquinta, and Paul Felder to name a few.