Dan Hooker returns to action in Las Vegas later this month. Photo / Getty Images
Dan Hooker returns to action in Las Vegas later this month. Photo / Getty Images
Dan Hooker has never been the type to pull punches. Be it inside or outside the octagon, if you come for 'The Hangman' you'd better not miss.
As he has surged through the UFC lightweight rankings, more and more eyes have fallen on him. Now, ranked at No 5 inthe UFC's deepest division, the Kiwi star has become a magnet for the ire of MMA fans online.
As a result, Hooker has fallen into the role of a heel. And if there was any doubt, one glance at the event poster for his upcoming main event fight against No 3 ranked Dustin Poirier in Las Vegas next week confirms it. Of the four faces on the poster, the image chosen for Hooker is the only one showing any sort of emotion; the glare on his face enough to paint him in the role of the villain to even those new to the sport.
"I guess I kind of am the heel," Hooker admits. "That comes down to coming from such a small place, having one of the smaller followings of the guys that I'm in the top five with. I definitely, without a doubt, have the smallest fanbase and that's because I'm from a small country in the corner of the world.
"So if they want me to play the heel or they paint me as the heel, I'm happy to play that part. I'm not shy about what I want and I'm not shy about asking for it.
"I can't even redo that face," he says of the poster, laughing. "All I want to know is what they said to make me do that face. That's not even my serious pissed off face; when I'm actually mad I just get a little smirk and an evil look in my eyes, but that's a weird face. It's weird."
Dan Hooker's last bout was a split decision win over Paul Felder at Spark Arena in February. Photo / Photosport
Hooker will fly out for the United States early next week, with City Kickboxing coaches Eugene Bareman, Andrei Paulet and Mike Angove making the trip to corner him against Poirier at the UFC Apex.
The fight has massive implications for the lightweight title picture, with former interim champion Poirier unsuccessfully trying to become the undisputed champion in his last bout – a submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov. A win over Poirier catapults Hooker right into the title frame; a win for Poirier improves his claims for another shot at the gold.
The fight will be held in a different environment to what Hooker has gotten used to. In his last two bouts, he fought in front of a UFC-record 57,127 crowd in Melbourne and a sold out Spark Arena at home in Auckland. At the Apex, there won't be a crowd in attendance.
The Apex also features a smaller octagon to that which is usually used in UFC events.
Lots of talk about the smaller cage at the Apex lately. Here’s a good visual of the difference between the one they have been using for these Vegas shows and the usual big-arena cage, courtesy of @CorporateJakepic.twitter.com/CBELdTSeVR
While the smaller cage brings both positives and negatives, Hooker says in the wider scheme of things it doesn't make too much of a difference for him.
"It does increase the pace of the fight, but I don't mind a high pace. I definitely know what he's going to try to do – he's going to try pressure me and get in my face, but I set a lot of traps. If it can speed up him walking into one of those traps, it's just less space for him to avoid those. But he's also going to want to press me into the cage, so it benefits both of us.
"We could fight in a car park, if I'm being honest. We could fight in the car park, we could fight on the roof, we could fight underwater – I don't care. As long as I get my hands on Dustin Poirier I'm a happy man."
UFC Fight Night: Poirier v Hooker UFC Apex, Las Vegas, June 28 (NZ time) Preliminary card begins at 9am, main card from 12pm.
Bout order Lightweight main event: Dustin Poirier v Dan Hooker Welterweight: Mike Perry v Mickey Gall Middleweight: Brendan Allen v Kyle Daukaus Heavyweight: Gian Villante v Maurice Greene Bantamweight: Aspen Ladd v Sara McMann Lightweight: Luis Pena v Khama Worthy Heavyweight: Philipe Lins v Tanner Boser Catchweight (150lbs): Sean Woodson v Kyle Nelson
