Tag: Dan Hooker

Dan Hooker claims he was ‘F*cking offended’ by offer to fight ex-UFC champion Tony Ferguson in return

Dan Hooker so f*cking offended by offer to fight Tony Ferguson in UFC returnAhead of his Octagon return this weekend at UFC 290 during International Fight Week, lightweight striker, Dan Hooker claims he was “so f*cking offended” by a recent offer to fight the faltering former interim titleholder, Tony Ferguson. Hooker, the current number twelve ranked lightweight contender, has yet to return to action since featuring against Peruvian […]

Dan Hooker so f*cking offended by offer to fight Tony Ferguson in UFC return

Ahead of his Octagon return this weekend at UFC 290 during International Fight Week, lightweight striker, Dan Hooker claims he was “so f*cking offended” by a recent offer to fight the faltering former interim titleholder, Tony Ferguson.

Hooker, the current number twelve ranked lightweight contender, has yet to return to action since featuring against Peruvian grappler, Claudio Puelles at UFC 281 back in November of last year Madison Square Garden – stopping the upstart with a third round body kick TKO win.

Dan Hooker fights Jalin Turner at UFC 290 this weekend

Slated to return earlier this year against the eye-catching, Jalin Turner, Hooker suffered a fractured hand ahead of the bout – forcing his withdrawal, however, meets the former in a rebooked fight this weekend at UFC 290.

Snapping a two-fight losing skid to lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev and featherweight contender, Arnold Allen with his stoppage win over Puelles, Hooker, a staple of City Kickboxing, revealed a potential bout with the veteran, Ferguson was proposed to him – one at which he duly scoffed at.

“I broke my hand and then I was getting back into training, easing back into training,” Dan Hooker told Submission Radio. “And then I think someone fought and my manager asked, ‘What about this guy?’ Like a top contender, I can’t remember who it was. But I messaged him and was like, ‘What about this guy for the next fight?’ He replied, ‘Oh, we asked for Tony Ferguson.’ I was so f*cking offended.”

“That sparked me,” Dan Hooker explained. “I was like, ‘Nah, f*ck this.’ The doctors were saying you got to wait another month for your hand before you can get back into training. I said, ‘F*ck that.’ I went and sparred the next day because I was so offended.”

Himself slated to make his comeback at UFC 291 at the end of this month, Oxnard veteran, Ferguson is booked to fight fellow lightweight stalwart, Bobby Green in Salt Lake City, Utah. 

Dan Hooker mocks BMF title ahead of return at UFC 290: ‘I’d probably put it under the bed or something’

Dan Hooker mocks BMF title return I'd put it under the bed or somethingBooked 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 […]

Dan Hooker mocks BMF title return I'd put it under the bed or something

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. 

Dan Hooker expects ‘Punishment’ for IV use claims against UFC rival Islam Makhachev

Dan HookerDan Hooker expects to be punished by the UFC after accusing Islam Makhachev of using an IV to aid in his UFC 284 recovery. Makhachev, the promotion’s reigning lightweight champion, earned a unanimous decision victory over 145-pound titleholder Alexander Volkanovski in a closely-contested superfight last month. While some fans believe ‘The Great’ did enough to […]

Dan Hooker

Dan Hooker expects to be punished by the UFC after accusing Islam Makhachev of using an IV to aid in his UFC 284 recovery.

Makhachev, the promotion’s reigning lightweight champion, earned a unanimous decision victory over 145-pound titleholder Alexander Volkanovski in a closely-contested superfight last month. While some fans believe ‘The Great’ did enough to leave Perth a double champion, the real controversy came after the fight when Volkanovski’s City Kickboxing teammate Dan Hooker accused Makhachev of hiring a nurse to administer an IV as part of his post-weigh in recovery.

Dan Hooker Doesn’t Care if the UFC Punishes Him

After making accusations on Twitter, Dan Hooker spoke with The AllStar’s John Hyon Ko to reiterate his suspicion. However, ‘The Hangman’ doesn’t anticipate the UFC or USADA taking any action against Makhachev. In fact, Hooker believes that he will likely be the recipient of punishment from the promotion for publicly accusing the lightweight champion of cheating.

“The UFC don’t care and USADA don’t care,” Hooker said. “Why do you think I’m the guy that come out and said something? I don’t care. You don’t think that I know there are gonna be consequences for what I said? You don’t think I’m gonna be punished for what I said? I just don’t care.

“Do I think that the UFC is gonna punish me in some way? Yeah, I’m sure they will. I’m sure they’ll give me tough matchups — whoop-dee-doo,” Hooker continued. “Ask the last 10 blokes I fought, they’re all tough matchups. Bring it on. You wanna give me tough matchups? Give me tough matchups… I’m not gonna blatantly see one of my teammates cheated out of a world title and not say anything.”

While IV usage is not expressly prohibited, the USADA rules stipulate that intravenous infusions and injections are prohibited both in-competition and out-of-competition if the volume of the substance exceeds 100 milliliters within a 12-hour period.

Islam Makhachev was quick to respond to Dan Hooker’s accusations on Twitter saying, “You must be held accountable for such accusations.”

Transcription courtesy of MMA News

Dan Hooker Claims He’s Had Increased USADA Visits Since Accusation Against Islam Makhachev

UFC lightweight Dan Hooker recently claimed that he’s been receiving increased visits from USADA since he accused Islam Makhachev of ‘cheating’ prior to his win over Alexander Volkanovski. While the UFC 284 pay-per-view in Perth, Aust…

UFC lightweight Dan Hooker recently claimed that he’s been receiving increased visits from USADA since he accused Islam Makhachev of ‘cheating’ prior to his win over Alexander Volkanovski. While the UFC 284 pay-per-view in Perth, Australia, last month concluded with a headliner that was widely praised for its entertaining and enthralling nature, the discussion since…

Continue Reading Dan Hooker Claims He’s Had Increased USADA Visits Since Accusation Against Islam Makhachev at MMA News.

Michael Chandler Confident UFC Won’t Favor Hooker For McGregor’s Return Fight 

UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler remains confident of being the promotion’s first choice when it comes to Conor McGregor’s comeback fight in 2025. Chandler was announced as the former two-division champion’s return opponent and opposition coach on The Ultimate Fighter toward the start of 2023. But while they completed the reality series, their matchup is […]

Continue Reading Michael Chandler Confident UFC Won’t Favor Hooker For McGregor’s Return Fight  at MMA News.

UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler remains confident of being the promotion’s first choice when it comes to Conor McGregor’s comeback fight in 2025.

Chandler was announced as the former two-division champion’s return opponent and opposition coach on The Ultimate Fighter toward the start of 2023. But while they completed the reality series, their matchup is still yet to reach the cage.

And the chances of it doing so took a hit following the cancellation of their UFC 303 main event this past June and Chandler’s subsequent decision to accept a co-headline slot against Charles Oliveira at next month’s UFC 309 pay-per-view.

Despite that, both Dana White and “Iron” have suggested the McGregor clash remains on the table. And the former Bellator champion insist he remains first choice, even in spite of the Irishman naming Dan Hooker as his opponent instead.

During an appearance on the debut episode of The Ariel Helwani Show on Uncrowned, Chandler was asked for his reaction to McGregor’s latest remarks regarding his return to MMA competition in 2025.

The #6-ranked contender, who started his UFC journey with a victory over Hooker, dismissed McGregor’s comments while at BKFC Spain this past weekend as being serious.

And in any case, Chandler doesn’t foresee the promotion being on board with “The Hangman” welcoming the Dubliner back to action over him.

“Conor’s a very ‘flavor of the week’ kind of guy. He just had a conversation with Dan Hooker. Everybody knows Dan Hooker’s an awesome dude. You can sit there and have a beer with him, a Forged Irish Stout, in the middle of a squared ring and be like, ‘Hey, man. I like you, you like me, we can make some magic, let’s fight each other!’ I looked no further than that, honestly.

“I don’t think the UFC’s going to be very keen on McGregor vs. Hooker compared to McGregor vs. Chandler, since we need to make this fight happen,” Chandler continued. “I’m not really worried about it. It’s been up in the air for the better part of two years. So I’m not going to spend any time or energy or effort worrying about it.”

Before potentially putting his sights back on McGregor, Chandler will need to have his full energy on the opportunity to avenge the defeat he fell to in his sole UFC title fight to date back in 2022.

And should he accomplish that feat against Oliveira inside Madison Square Garden on Nov. 17, perhaps a second shot at reaching the lightweight mountaintop will await him next year.

Continue Reading Michael Chandler Confident UFC Won’t Favor Hooker For McGregor’s Return Fight  at MMA News.

Dan Hooker Reacts To Conor McGregor Naming Him As UFC Return Opponent

Though Conor McGregor’s newest claims for his return matchup came out of the blue, Dan Hooker says he’s down for a fight. While in Spain for the latest BKFC event, Conor McGregor — the BKFC part-owner and former two-division UFC champion — revealed the latest update he has on his return to the Octagon. McGregor […]

Continue Reading Dan Hooker Reacts To Conor McGregor Naming Him As UFC Return Opponent at MMA News.

Though Conor McGregor’s newest claims for his return matchup came out of the blue, Dan Hooker says he’s down for a fight.

While in Spain for the latest BKFC event, Conor McGregor — the BKFC part-owner and former two-division UFC champion — revealed the latest update he has on his return to the Octagon. McGregor told Bloody Elbow that his plan is to return on February 1 in Saudi Arabia, with the opponent now being Dan Hooker, not Michael Chandler.

Hooker was also present in Spain as one of the cornermen for The Mac Life’s Oscar Willis in his first-round TKO of Ben Davis in a battle of MMA media members. McGregor and Hooker were seen having a conversation in the ring following the fight.

During an appearance on Submission Radio, Hooker was asked about the exchange and McGregor’s remarks that the two are going to fight next. The #5-ranked UFC lightweight claimed he’s in as long as the UFC gives the green light.

“We had a few words inside the ring,” Hooker said. “But, yeah, February 1 works for me. We’ll get that thing straight away.

“I’m on board, he’s on board. We just need to get the UFC on board and we’ll get this thing across the line.”

Dan Hooker Interested In Conor McGregor’s Plan For Fight In Saudi Arabia Next February

As far as their conversation in the middle of the ring, Hooker says the two had a casual talk and get along well.

“We’re kindred spirits, as you can see,” Hooker said. “We get along quite well. I think we’re both very similar. There’s a lot of similarities there.”

McGregor’s comeback was scheduled to take place at UFC 303 earlier this year before he withdrew due to a toe injury. He and Chandler had been slated to fight ever since the two were announced to be the coaches for The Ultimate Fighter season 31 in 2023

Last month, it was announced that Chandler would instead face Charles Oliveira in a five-round rematch slated to co-headline UFC 309 on Nov. 16 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. “Iron” has been out of action since a loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 281 in November 2022.

UFC CEO Dana White had assured that a fight between McGregor and Chandler could still happen down the line.

McGregor has previously stated he wants to fight twice in 2025. The Irishman has two bouts remaining on his UFC deal, with some insiders attributing the delays of McGregor’s long-awaited return to the promotion wanting to prevent McGregor from hitting free agency.

The former 145- and 155-pound champion has not fought since his loss to Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021.

Continue Reading Dan Hooker Reacts To Conor McGregor Naming Him As UFC Return Opponent at MMA News.