Dan Hooker has revealed the true purpose why he begged UFC CEO Dana White for the Arman Tsarukyan match. Hooker was scheduled to battle Justin Gaethje earlier this 12 months; nonetheless, a hand damage pressured him out of the bout.
The Hangman’ was out of motion for a number of months, and after he was cleared to battle, the promotion introduced the UFC Qatar headliner between Tsarukyan and Hooker, which is able to go down this weekend.
In a current sit-down with MMA Junkie’s Nolan King, Hooker revealed why he needed to battle the No. 1-ranked UFC light-weight contender. Hooker believes Tsarukyan is the path to the title:
“, Dana has come out and stated it’s a primary contender battle. He’s [Arman] the primary contender that wants a win within the division, and that’s why I chased this battle, and I requested for this battle, and I nagged the UFC to provide me this battle—as a result of I knew nobody between myself and Arman Tsarukyan would wish to battle Arman… I knew that with a win over Tsarukyan, I might get to leap the queue. I get to leap from exterior the highest 5 to the primary contender within the division. So yeah, thrilling occasions for certain.”
Take a look at Dan Hooker’s feedback under (3:21):
As per the up to date UFC rankings, Hooker at the moment holds the quantity six spot on the lightweight chart. A win over Tsarukyan may warrant him a title shot subsequent. Nevertheless, as per sources, Gaethje is subsequent in line to problem champion Ilia Topuria for the 155-pound championship. Gaethje has stated that if he doesn’t get a title shot, he’ll retire.
Dan Hooker discusses why he finds battling Arman Tsarukyan so ‘thrilling’
In a current interview with Sky Sport NZ, forward of UFC Qatar, Dan Hooker defined how the Arman Tsarukyan bout thrills him as a result of everybody thinks the Armenian is rather a lot higher than him. Subsequently, after defeating ‘Ahalkalakets’ this weekend, he hopes to disprove everybody:
“This battle excites me as a result of they really feel like he’s rather a lot higher than I’m. That’s why this battle excites me a lot. It’s like something good that I do. He’s going to begin to seem like extra of an fool. He was presupposed to be this tremendous freak athlete, title contender, the man to beat Ilia Topuria. That is his story, and now he’s shedding to Dan Hooker, the bloke from New Zealand who’s misplaced a 3rd of his fights.”
Take a look at Dan Hooker’s feedback under (40:05):
