Dan Hooker says the reaction to his UFC Paris main event against Salahdine Parnasse has already gone beyond normal fight talk.
Hooker addressed the matchup during a new Submission Radio interview after the UFC booked him opposite the former KSW champion for Sept. 5 in Paris. The fight gives Parnasse an immediate five-round debut in front of a French crowd, while Hooker gets another chance to play spoiler against a highly backed lightweight.
The full interview is embedded below, with Hooker’s comments on the Parnasse booking, the fan reaction, and the UFC’s matchmaking risk coming in the opening stretch.
Hooker Says Paris Was Worth The Switch
Hooker said he had been looking at a different fight before the UFC came back with Parnasse in a main event slot.
“Yeah, good fight, obviously. Look, I was just looking for a fight and I said I was ready to go. September, we approached the UFC about the Bobby Green fight, and yeah, they came back with this French kid in the main event for a shitload of money. And I said, ‘That’s what I’m here for. I’m here to ruin hopes and dreams. This kid wants to come in, make a name for himself, crack the top 10. He wants to be a superstar. Well, I’m going to fly to France and I’m going to f*ck everyone’s night up. That’s my plan.’”
The earlier Parnasse vs. Hooker booking already carried risk because Parnasse is entering the UFC with championship credentials and a home-country crowd behind him. Hooker said the opponent and setting give him more than a fun fight.
“You know me, I couldn’t really give a f*ck about anyone, whether they liked me or not or doubted me or thought I was good, thought I was sh*t. It’s kind of irrelevant for me. Yeah, I’m excited about this fight. The King Green fight, that’s like a fun fight, but I don’t feel like it really does anything. This is my opportunity to get back in there, to shut a lot of people up, and it’s a good opportunity to put on a show and, as always, just display my improvements.”
Hooker Breaks Down The Parnasse Risk
Hooker admitted he did not know everything about Parnasse when the UFC first offered the bout, but he understood why the promotion wanted to bring him straight into a high-profile lightweight fight.
“No, not too much. Obviously, KSW is a big show, has been around for a really long time. He’s a two-division champ in KSW. He’s got a nice record and he’s got some pretty big names on that record. His skills, yeah, I can definitely see why the UFC is always excited to introduce new fighters into the mix, especially when you get the same old names in the division. But it’s just a f*cking hard division to make a name in.”
“He’s a big prospect. The dangerous part about making a name in the lightweight division is getting to the top. So he’s getting an opportunity to skip the queue, and that’s the hard part really. There are like 150, 160 lightweights in the division. To get yourself into the top 15, get yourself into the top 10, that’s the hard part. Getting past the first 50 guys and the next 50 guys and another 50 guys before you get to the top 10, that’s the hard part. They’re skipping the queue, and someone’s picking up the check. Someone’s paying me to let this kid skip the queue.”
Hooker Says The Threats Have Been Outrageous
The strongest part of the interview came when Hooker described the messages he says he has received since the fight was announced.
“Yeah. Oh, man. I feel like I’m pissing off this kid. I feel like it’s like you’re ruining his plans. You’re ruining these boys in France. It’s in the main event. From memory, I can’t even say I watched any of the French events, but from what I’m getting, the death threats have been outrageous. I didn’t get it when I fought BSD.”
When asked what he meant by death threats, Hooker gave more detail and contrasted the reaction with the build to his previous fight against Benoit Saint Denis.
“Death, like just the French people speaking French and telling me that I’m going to die and telling me they’re going to kill me. Yeah, the difference has been outrageous. I think maybe because BSD is obviously French as well, my last opponent. I feel like just because he’s such a respectful guy that maybe the people that follow him or support him aren’t complete [expletives]. But whoever this c*nt’s fans are are outrageous.”
Hooker said he does not view the booking as the UFC setting him up to fail. He sees it as a two-way bet for the promotion and a direct route back toward bigger lightweight fights if he wins.
“Shutting this kid’s lights out and making these guys eat their words. I don’t feel like the UFC’s got it out for me. I feel like they just kind of brought me this fight because I’m the only one dumb enough to fight a kid that’s unranked, or one of the only fighters in the top 15 that would take the risk, would roll the dice, would give this kid a shot. I feel like it’s win-win for the UFC. Either this kid wins and they get a hot new contender in the division, or I get back on a streak and I get me a nice big fight in the top 10 again. So, for the UFC, I feel like it’s win-win. I don’t feel like they’ve got it out for me.”
The card has already added more French and European hooks, including Matthieu Letho Duclos joining UFC Paris. Hooker said the city and main-event label matter too, even if Parnasse is still new to a wider UFC audience.
“I feel like it’s got a lot of appeal, this fight. Obviously the hardcore MMA fans know who this kid is, and I feel like it can shut a lot of people up. For your hardcore fans, it’s got appeal. And then for your average Joe, it’s a main event. When people say, ‘Why are you taking this fight?’ It’s like, it’s a main event. And I’m just a rogue with a backpack. I originally started fighting because you watch Kickboxer and they’re traveling the world and they’re just living in their suitcase and they’re flying to wherever. I ain’t never been to Paris before. I ain’t never been to France. That’s a big part of it. I’m excited to go out there and explore a new city.”
For Hooker, the setup is simple: Parnasse gets a shortcut into a crowded lightweight picture, and Hooker gets paid to test whether that shortcut holds up. It also gives him a different kind of Paris story than the lightweight callout cycle that followed his previous UFC run.
