Dan Hooker targets UFC 284 appearance…but rules out two fights
Dan Hooker is a man on a mission, and he is already planning on making an appearance at UFC 284. The “Hangman”, who had been on a losing skid has been a mainstay of the lightweight scene for some time now.
At UFC 281 in New York, Hooker was in total command and he produced a convincing display against submission specialist Claudio Puelles by TKO in the second round.
Hooker dropped his opponent with a piercing body kick. He was tactically more astute as he demonstrated his superior technical striking and fighting IQ to ward off attacks from Puelles.
And now Hooker is targeting an appearance at UFC 284 which will take place in February in Perth, Australia. But there are two names that Hooker has no interest in scheduling a fight with — Tony Ferguson and Rafael dos Anjos.
He said: “Obviously I’ll fight them if they put their hands up, but those are two guys… like RDA said he’s no longer got his eyes on the title… Tony I don’t know what he’s up to.
“They didn’t answer the question that I went there and asked. I asked them to answer on the weekend, which is to go out there and prove where you belong in the division.
“I should be competing against the upper echelon guys of the division. I wanna fight guys who are hungry. Guys who are on streaks, who are on momentum that I can take from them.
“Those are two guys that I don’t see with a lot of momentum behind them.”
UFC always garners plenty of interest especially ahead of big fight nights, and many of the top bookmakers across the world will be on hand to supply the latest pre-event betting lines to satisfy bettors. Among them will be Unibet Australia, which will have a plethora of markets for the undercard and main card, and this will include who will win the bout, as well as the method of victory, such as TKO.
In many respects, UFC 281 was a rather dramatic and emotional affair, especially after Frankie Edgar announced beforehand that he would be making his last visit to the Octagon as a professional fighter before walking away from the sport.
However, UFC 284 promises to be a brilliant sporting occasion, and things are starting to take shape on the planning front. Jimmy Crute has already been booked to face Alonzo Menifield, and it will be his first bout since returning from knee surgery.
Crute (12-3), who had been on a two-fight losing streak, has been added to the UFC 284 card along with Kai Kara-France and Alex Perez.
And with Hooker earmarked to take part, it will only underline his desire to be involved in the lightweight picture and he is clearly rather ambitious. He’s not one to shy away from a challenge, but he means business, and it will be fascinating to see if he can strut his stuff in February.
