Tag: UFC lightweight

Dan Hooker Reveals He Will ‘Probably’ Be Highest-Paid UFC Lightweight In New Five-Fight Deal

Dan Hooker recently revealed that he inked a lavish new deal with the UFC, claiming it could potentially make him the highest-paid lightweight fighter on the roster. “The Hangman” is gearing up for a clash with Mateusz Gamrot on the main card of UFC 305, scheduled to go down this weekend at the iconic RAC […]

Continue Reading Dan Hooker Reveals He Will ‘Probably’ Be Highest-Paid UFC Lightweight In New Five-Fight Deal at MMA News.

Dan Hooker recently revealed that he inked a lavish new deal with the UFC, claiming it could potentially make him the highest-paid lightweight fighter on the roster.

“The Hangman” is gearing up for a clash with Mateusz Gamrot on the main card of UFC 305, scheduled to go down this weekend at the iconic RAC Arena in Perth, Western Australia.

Hooker has been particularly exhilarated about competing on the Australasia pay-per-view card, especially since it offers him the chance to fight alongside his City Kickboxing teammates, Israel Adesanya and Kai Kara-France.

The 34-year-old New Zealander last stepped into the Octagon against Jalin Turner at UFC 290 in July 2023, where he showcased incredible grit by fighting through a broken arm to earn a hard-fought split-decision victory. He was originally set to make his comeback against Bobby Green at UFC Fight Night Austin last December, but he was forced to pull out after reinjuring his arm.

Hooker has been a constant fixture in the UFC’s 155-pound division since 2014, earning notable victories over respected fighters such as Gilbert Burns, Paul Felder, and Jim Miller. Despite these impressive wins, he has struggled to fully harness his momentum and consistently perform at the level of his true potential.

As one of the division’s seasoned veterans, Hooker is now reaping the rewards of his dedication, having recently signed a fresh deal with the UFC—a development that has sparked excitement for him…

Hooker On New UFC Deal: ‘They Don’t Pay for Playing Nice’

During a recent interview with Submission Radio, Hooker revealed that he’s secured a fresh five-fight contract with the UFC. “The Hangman” explained that the negotiation process was lengthy.

While the exact details of Hooker’s contract remain under wraps, now that the deal is sealed, he’s confident it catapults him into the upper echelon of earners within the lightweight division.

“It’s been in the works for some time. I was on my last fight, which was supposed to be against Bobby Green and all that,” Hooker said. “So, it’s something that’s been in the background for quite a while now, but to finally get it all signed before this big deal is great. As far as I know, besides the big pay-per-view guys and the champs, I’ll probably be the highest-paid lightweight out there. You’ve got to stand your ground, brother—they don’t pay you for being nice.”

Hooker is currently riding the momentum of a two-fight resurgence after a brief and challenging stint in the featherweight division, where he endured a first-round knockout at the hands of Arnold Allen in March 2022. With a UFC record of 13-8, Hooker is determined to keep his victorious momentum going come Saturday night.

Continue Reading Dan Hooker Reveals He Will ‘Probably’ Be Highest-Paid UFC Lightweight In New Five-Fight Deal at MMA News.

Heads Up: This Friday Could Be Spencer Fisher’s Swan Song

Spencer Fisher
(And here we thought Canadians were afraid of a good old fashioned war.)  

It seems that lately it has become harder and harder to gauge what an MMA fighter means exactly by the word “retirement.” UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture has finally come to terms with his, whereas Jamie Varner apparently retired as part of an elaborate heist that involved almost immediately coming out of said retirement, picking up a couple quick wins in a small promotion, filling in as a late injury replacement against a huge favorite, and promptly screwing millions of people out of their hard earned money. And to think, George Clooney need the help of more than a dozen people to rob some measly casino. Chump.

According to the man himself, we might just see long time UFC lightweight Spencer Fisher add his name to the list of recently retired MMA fighters come Friday night, as he told Ariel Helwani that he’s “pretty sure” it will be his last fight as a professional. His reasoning was similar to that of Chris Lytle’s — desire to spend more time with his family:

I’ve been missing a lot of stuff with my family. It gets tougher and tougher as they get older.

Although “The King” has flown under the radar for the past few years, dropping four of his past five contests, he is without a doubt one of the more exciting guys that helped the UFC’s lightweight division rise to popularity following its reinstatement in the promotion at UFC 58, which coincidentally was where Fisher made his lightweight debut against none other than his opponent on Friday, Sam Stout.

It is perhaps the most fitting end to a career that one could ask for.

Spencer Fisher
(And here we thought Canadians were afraid of a good old fashioned war.)  

It seems that lately it has become harder and harder to gauge what an MMA fighter means exactly by the word “retirement.” UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture has finally come to terms with his, whereas Jamie Varner apparently retired as part of an elaborate heist that involved almost immediately coming out of said retirement, picking up a couple quick wins in a small promotion, filling in as a late injury replacement against a huge favorite, and promptly screwing millions of people out of their hard earned money. And to think, George Clooney need the help of more than a dozen people to rob some measly casino. Chump.

According to the man himself, we might just see long time UFC lightweight Spencer Fisher add his name to the list of recently retired MMA fighters come Friday night, as he told Ariel Helwani that he’s “pretty sure” it will be his last fight as a professional. His reasoning was similar to that of Chris Lytle’s — desire to spend more time with his family:

I’ve been missing a lot of stuff with my family. It gets tougher and tougher as they get older.

Although “The King” has flown under the radar for the past few years, dropping four of his past five contests, he is without a doubt one of the more exciting guys that helped the UFC’s lightweight division rise to popularity following its reinstatement in the promotion at UFC 58, which coincidentally was where Fisher made his lightweight debut against none other than his opponent on Friday, Sam Stout.

It is perhaps the most fitting end to a career that one could ask for.

Few can forget the pair’s first two meetings, which took place at UFC 58 and Ultimate Fight Night 10, respectively. The bouts were not only split between the two foes, but were in damn near every fan’s top ten fights of the year on both occasions. The third meeting promises to deliver the same back-and-forth action that we are used to, which is something that Fisher admits he is looking forward to:

No pressure. I want to go out there and fight. Swing for the fences. I don’t have to find him. He’ll be right there in the middle.

Aside from his pair of fights with Stout, the seven year UFC veteran is perhaps best known for his brilliant walk-off knockout of Matt Wiman at UFC 60. Even more beautiful than the knockout itself was what came just seconds before: As was the case when Rashad Evans decided to start shit talking to Lyoto Machida mid-flurry, Wiman decided that it would be best to let the crowd know he was fine following a right hand that Fisher clipped him with, and was immediately taught a lesson in octagon humility compliments of a flying knee that looked more like, as Couture described it, “a fullback running for the goal line from a yard away.”

Fisher also holds notable wins over Thiago Alves, Josh Neer, Aaron Riley, Dan Lauzon, Caol Uno, and Jeremy Stephens. If Friday truly does mark his final fight in the UFC, we here at CagePotato would like to thank Spencer for the years of great fights and wish him all the best in the future. We will leave you with another highlight of Fisher’s, one that came just a few months before his UFC debut, in which he sends TUF 12 veteran Kyle Watson crashing to the canvas with a brutal 1-2 combo and proceeds to perform the best impression of Chris Farley’s Chippendale dancer routine that we’ve ever seen:


(Fight starts at the 1:30 mark.) 

Leave Spencer your best regards in the comments section, and make sure to swing by on Friday night, where some asshat you refer to as Danga will be liveblogging the UFC on FX: Maynard vs. Guida main card starting at 9 p.m. EST.

–J. Jones

Nate Diaz Says Everyone in the UFC Uses Steroids and Without Sponsors, Fighters Wouldn’t be Able to Survive Financially

(Video courtesy YouTube/WorldFightProducts)
UFC lightweight-welterweight, Nate Diaz was in Toronto over the weekend for some guest appearances and I debated whether or not I should make the hour-and-a-half trek to interview him for the site, but u…

(Video courtesy YouTube/WorldFightProducts)

UFC lightweight-welterweight, Nate Diaz was in Toronto over the weekend for some guest appearances and I debated whether or not I should make the hour-and-a-half trek to interview him for the site, but ultimately I decided against it knowing that interviewing him is like hunting for truffles. You never know if you’re going to find anything valuable or just come home covered in mud and having wasted your day.

As you can see by the video above, which ranks in my top-ten most awkward fighter interviews of all time, the likelihood that I would have found a "truffle" were slim to none as Nate didn’t seem in the least bit interested in answering any of the interviewer’s mundane questions.

Maybe it had something to do with the guy’s habit of replying to each of Nate’s answers with "Cool!" or "Super!" or "Super Cool!" or maybe its because he and Nick are both sociopaths in the classic sense of the word.

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