At UFC 313 in Las Vegas in March, the Kiwi lightweight will meet American Justin Gaethje in a five-round co-main event – Hooker finally getting “the battle of the highlight reel” he called for after his win over PaulFelder at UFC Auckland five years ago.
It’s as fan-friendly a match-up as the UFC could possibly make and one in which Hooker believes he will be able to make a statement in.
“That’s the question that people ask - ‘yeah, he’s an exciting fighter, everyone loves to watch his fights, but does he have that championship calibre skill level?’
“I feel like going out there and not only beating Justin Gaethje, but being able to outclass him and out-technique him will answer a lot of those questions.”
It’s a bout that likely comes with title implications - Gaethje ranked at No 3 in the division and Hooker at No 6 - be that for the lightweight belt, or a shot at the BMF (baddest m**********r) title; a belt introduced by the UFC to be contested by athletes who bring the same style as Hooker and Gaethje do to the octagon.
That style?
“It’s just two guys who are prepared to go a bit further than everyone else,” Hooker says.
“It comes down to the style with which you approach the sport and that’s you either win or you die trying. We both go out there and we’re prepared to do that so when you lock two of us in there, I doubt this fight sees the judges.
“For one guy to just completely outclass the other guy would be difficult. I think it’ll be a back-and-forth fight, at some stage someone’s just going to have to bite down on their mouthpiece and try to take that lead back.”
While Hooker had a good idea Gaethje would be his next opponent, he was unaware that the two would be booked for the date in March.
The 34-year-old found out with the rest of the world on Sunday, when the UFC announced the booking during the broadcast of UFC 311 in Los Angeles after Gaethje revealed on his YouTube channel last week that he had told the UFC he wanted to be on UFC 313.
“March kind of came out of the blue. I was expecting April. From what I heard, it was April and I asked the UFC like, a week before that and they said, ‘oh, we’ll let you know.’
“So, to hear Gaethje announce it on his thing a couple of weeks before I even knew about it was a bit funny. But I kind of take it as a compliment that they knew I’d take that fight so they didn’t even ask.
Justin Gaethje (left) and Dan Hooker (centre) will fight at UFC 313 in March. Photo / Getty Images
“There’s enough money there that they know I’m going to sign the contract. Five-round co-main event, seven weeks, it’s a big opportunity [against] the No 3 in the division.
“The UFC alluded to it - obviously there are no promises in the game - but it’s some kind of title eliminator. You get your hand raised against Justin Gaethje, you’re either fighting for the undisputed title or that BMF title. We’re lucky that we’ve got two titles in our weight class.”
The bout will come weeks after Hooker and wife Isabella welcome another child to their family – a situation familiar to the now top-10 ranked lightweight as their daughter Zoe was born a few weeks before his bout against Edson Barboza in 2018.
In an interview with Submission Radio, Hooker spoke about the lessons he learned from that outing, saying that he didn’t think about the fight because his new daughter was the most important thing in his life and took all his focus.
Speaking to the Herald, Hooker clarified those comments.
“Yeah, nah, the missus did get pissed off about that. My daughter was born three-and-a-half weeks before I fought Edson Barboza and I got absolutely mangled, and I said this time would be different. My missus got pissed off with me because she was like ‘you’re kind of making it seem like your focus is more on the fight than the baby.’
“I just want to clarify that. I just have that experience of running through it. Obviously, that’s the most important thing going on in my life, but I will just be pulling overtime and still doing all that study and the technical side of things.
“With the Edson Barboza fight, my mind was focused on having a baby so I was ticking all the physical boxes, but the film study, absorbing the little movements and calculations my coaches wanted me to do...that mental side of it was left to the wayside.
“That’s what I mean this time; I’m mentally going to be locked in as well.”
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.
