Dan Hooker eyes fight with either Justin Gaethje or Dustin Poirier next
Coming off his split-decision victory over Paul Felder in the main event of UFC Auckland this past weekend, Dan Hooker has two opponents in mind for his next fight.
During an appearance on The Luke Thomas Show on Sirius XM, Hooker discussed who he’d like to fight next and says either “The Diamond” or “The Highlight” are the two opponents who make sense.
Even after a 25 minute war at #UFCAuckland, @danthehangman says he'll sign to fight Justin Gaethje or Dustin Poirier tomorrow #TLTS 👊👊👊👊👊👊👊@lthomasnews
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/BOPNgtk4Ey— MMA on SiriusXM (@MMAonSiriusXM) February 25, 2020
“The only two fights that make sense in my mind are either Justin Gaethje or Dustin Poirier, and I already called Poirier out, so it doesn’t make sense to call him out twice. They’ll just use the video from the last one. I don’t need to ask twice, I’ll just ask for someone else.”
As for Gaethje, Hooker believes “The Highlight” is extremely technical and the coaching that he has received of late has been underrated.
“Yeah, he’s super technical. I think his strategy and approaches that he’s getting from his coaches are several underrated. No one is talking about the technique, they’re talking about knockouts. I want to fight him because he impresses me, I want to fight him because I respect his ability. I don’t want to fight him cause I think it’s an easy fight or I can beat him easily. I want to fight him because he’s such a tough and he’s on such an incredible streak. That’s the only reason I want to get in and compete against a guy.”
With the potential of a shuffle happening among the top lightweight contenders, Hooker went on to say that a fight against Poirier would be a fight that he’d sign up for “tomorrow” if it was offered.
When asked about his thoughts on a quick turnaround, Hooker said his mind doesn’t think about taking long layoffs between fights.
“Yeah, I don’t know, it’s just not how my mind works. I’ll be ready to get back in the gym by the end of the week, I’ll be back to training. This is why I don’t mind getting beat up and losing because it’s the only time I truly rest. If I win, I just want to fight again and that hunger never gets satisfied. The only way I rest is when I’m injured. In all honesty, that’s the only time I truly rest.”
Following his win over Felder, a photo was shared of both fighters in the hospital, but it appears that Hooker is ready to get back in and challenge the top of the division, as soon as possible.
