Dan Hooker knows how the game works.
After dropping his last UFC assignment against top-ranked contender Arman Tsarukyan, the Kiwi lightweight always expected he would have to protect his No 6 ranking the next time he stepped into the octagon.
In Sydney this weekend, he will do so against No 8-ranked Benoit Saint Denis.
The co-main event booking for the UFC 325 card at Qudos Bank Arena is one that quickly captured the attention of fans as both fighters had the tendency to hunt for finishes.
Saint Denis, of France, comes into the bout on a three-fight winning streak with two wins by submission and one by knockout. Hooker enters after the loss to Tsarukyan late in 2025 which ended a three-fight winning streak of his own.
That bout came after the longest layoff of Hooker’s professional career, and he said he was looking forward to getting back to work now that he’s shaken the rust off.
“Ain’t no way that I’m losing to a French bloke on Anzac soil. It just will not happen. Cannot compute. No, it’s a good fight,” Hooker told the Herald.
“Number eight in the division. I was expecting to fight down a couple of times after the s**t show of a performance last time, but to get to bounce back and to put yourself back in the mix in a single fight, we’re in the sport of you’re as good as your last fight. You’re kind of a loser until you win again, so the least time you can spend as a loser, the best.”
And just as he knew he would be fighting down in the rankings and having to defend his spot for his next outing, so too did he know how to approach a war of words with another highly ranked lightweight contender.
In a professional mixed martial arts career that has spanned 17 years so far, Hooker is no stranger to fighting words.
But there’s a line.
“There’s things that you don’t say. You don’t talk [about] or mention people’s wife, kids, or, you know, family,” he explained.
So when No 5-ranked lightweight Paddy Pimblett said “Dan Hooker couldn’t grapple a rapist off his ma” in an interview with The MMA Guru, the Kiwi lightweight took exception to it.
Hooker responded by bringing up a friend of Pimblett’s named Ricky, who took his own life in 2022.
“He said some stuff and I said some stuff back. I felt like he opened the door for it, and then he’s sitting there trying to play victim now,” Hooker said.
“It’s like, ‘bro, you opened the door for it. You said some horrible shit, and if you think I’m not going to think of the worst thing I can possibly say to you’ - my missus was like, doesn’t he know you’re actually mean?
“I’m actually mean. He went low, I went lower. I don’t take it back. It is what it is. As far as I’m concerned, that’s me and him done. I said some shit to make sure that it’s mutual. To make sure that the next time we see each other, that that conflict is mutual.”
It was a tit-for-tat situation that somewhat overshadowed his upcoming bout, but one that was not intended to set up a future fight between himself and the British athlete, Hooker said.
Pimblett has since fought against Justin Gaethje, losing by unanimous decision in a bout for the interim lightweight championship.
“It had nothing to do with the UFC,” Hooker said.
“As a fighter, bro, we’re emotional dudes. We’re like high-intensity, emotional people. He tried to get under my skin, he got under my skin. It genuinely pissed me right the f*** off.
“That’s what he did, and that’s why you don’t want to do that, because I’m going to genuinely piss you right the f*** off back.”
As far as Hooker is concerned, that situation has played out, for now.
Should he get past Saint Denis on Sunday, the UFC might not resist the temptation to match him and Pimblett up next. But for now, Hooker had one thing on his mind.
“I feel like a lot more settled and confident coming into this one for sure,” Hooker said.
“I’m just excited to get over there, get amongst it. It’s going to be a banger, this one.”
Main card
Main event: Alexander Volkanovski (c) v Diego Lopes (2) for the UFC featherweight championship
Lightweight: Dan Hooker (6) v Benoit Saint Denis (8)
Lightweight: Rafael Fiziev (9) v Mauricio Ruffy (14)
Heavyweight: Tai Tuivasa (12) v Tallison Teixeira (15)
Lightweight: Quillan Salkilld v Jamie Mullarkey
Preliminary card
Light heavyweight: Junior Tafa v Billy Elekana
Middleweight: Cam Rowston v Cody Brundage
Middleweight: Jacob Malkoun v Torrez Finney
Welterweight: Jonathan Micallef v Oban Elliott
Early prelims
Featherweight: Kaan Ofli v Yizha
Road To UFC final match-ups will also appear on the early prelims, including New Zealand’s Aaron Tau and Lawrence Lui.
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.