UFC lightweight fighter Dan Hooker has been on the rise, scoring wins back-to-back.
The fighter recently won at UFC 305, where he faced Mateusz Gamrot, and he’s looking forward to his next match. The UFC has set up his next match with #2 ranked lightweight and former champion Charles Oliveira.
“They want Charles [for me next],” Hooker told The Mac Life. “That’s a good fight. But there’s heaps of cool shit I can do. The lay of the land is pretty crazy. It’s such a wild sport. We’ll see how it plays out.”
Hooker is on a three-fight winning streak and isn’t afraid to take on any opponent. He initially hoped to take on #1 contender Arman Tsarukyan, but UFC has other plans.
Nevertheless, Hooker is on the verge of gaining a title shot and he’s willing to face any opponent to achieve his goal.
“Oh yeah, anybody. I couldn’t care less,” Hooker said of his next opponent. “All of them. Even Arman. I said to Sean [Shelby] I would like to fight Arman because screw it. We’ll go the toughest way to the title we possibly can. [Jalin] Turner, Gamrot, Arman, Islam [Makhachev]. I just don’t care, brother. I would prefer the hardest road to the title that I possibly could.
“He’s a prick. He’s been talking shit for years. And he’s just a prick,” Hooker continued of Tsarukyan. “There’s nothing more to it. It’s like the duality of fighting. There’s no one more I hate in the world than these other guys in the division, but there’s no one else I respect more in the world than the other guys. There’s no one more similar to me, but we’re all vying for the same thing.”
I’d like to get one more in this year,” Hooker said. “I’ve got another baby on the way, due in February. So I’d like to knock one out before then. There’s another card [rumored for Sydney in February], but it’s a couple of days before my wife’s due, so you’re cutting it a bit fine. I’m not going to stress the missus out like that. She deals with enough. She’s married to me, for f*ck’s sake. So if we can knock another one out this year, that will be incredible and then fight for the title next year.”
The fight between him and Oliveira promises to be interesting due to each fighter’s skill set. However, regardless of who the fighter faces, there is no doubt that he is on the path to becoming one of the most notable fighters in the UFC.
