- Dan Hooker has revealed his honest take on staying at featherweight and returning to lightweight
- “The Hangman” also talked about a possible timeline for his return
Dan Hooker competed as a featherweight in the UFC for two years before moving up to lightweight. After going 1-3 in his last four fights at 155, he returned to featherweight hoping to end his skid. However, he failed to make a strong comeback and even suffered a devastating first-round TKO loss.
After the defeat, many believe that “The Hangman” should move back up to lightweight, and apparently, he has already made his mind up.
Hooker wants to fight and eat
In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Hooker was quizzed to reveal if he plans to stay at featherweight or return to lightweight. According to “The Hangman,” his 145-pound days are over as he’d rather be in a comfortable weight where he can fight and eat at the same time.
“Oh f**k no! I could have made 145 if I wanted to,” Hooker said. “I’m closer to middleweight [now] than I am [in lightweight]. I feel like I could’ve stayed at 145 but obviously a lot of sacrifice goes into that. But other than the result of the last fight…I feel like I’m in the exact same position and both weight classes so why not. Why would I make like the extra sacrifice? The extra sacrifice was to get me back to same position that I was in. But if I’m in the exact same position, I’d rather be in the exact same position and eating and then having a slice of cake every now and then.”
“Put a fork on it [featherweight], bud,” he concluded. “I’m out of the conversation.”
Hooker went on the admit that it was during his time off after his last UFC fight when he realized that he should return and stay at lightweight.
“Probably when I was like some every couple of weeks off and then stepped on the scale, and I was just like ‘Oooh S**t!’ We ain’t going back [to 145]!,” Hooker said when asked when did he knew he should return to lightweight.
A fight near his home soil
As for a target date for his return, Hooker said that there’s no specific timeframe yet but he’d possibly consider stepping back inside the octagon if the UFC host an event near New Zealand.
“We’ll see. We’ll see,” the 32-year-old replied when asked when he plans to return. “Maybe when the UFC comes a bit closer.”
Who is next for him, Hooker goes into detail.
“It’ll be whoever it’s going to be,” Hooker said. “Obviously I have my inklings, but it’ll be like all those other situations. You run back and you look at who I’ve fought, you just look at the division and ask yourself, who don’t people want to fight? And that’s who I’ll probably end up fighting.
“Like, who’s getting turned down left, right and center? That’s who I’ll fight next. So you can take a look at the division. Ask yourself, ‘Who doesn’t anyone want to fight?’ That’s the guy. That’s why I’m not that fussed about. I can get back in the mix. I can get back in the mix in a heartbeat. You can’t count a dog like me out of the game. That’s just not how it works.”
As things stand, Hooker is currently ranked 13th in the lightweight division. In order to break into the top 10, he should be able to secure a scrap against a notable fighter first as most of the top guys are already booked for a fight.
