UFC: Hooker has plenty to gain

New Zealand-born UFC fighter Daniel Hooker. Photograph By Greg Bowker.

Kiwi featherweight Dan Hooker believes he has the most to gain out of any of the 24 competitors that will pull on the gloves at UFC Fight Night 65 in Adelaide on Sunday.

In only his third bout under the UFC banner, Hooker (11-5) will meet Japanese veteran Hatsu Hioki (27-8-2) who was previously pegged as one of the top-five featherweights in the world.

Auckland's Hooker is 1-1 since making his UFC debut in scintillating fashion with a TKO win over Ian Entwistle (9-2) at UFC Fight Night 43 in his hometown last year.

"If anything, my fight advances me the furthest," Hooker told the Herald. "I've got the hardest challenge on the card; in my opinion, I have the most to gain."

Hioki sits just outside the top-15 rankings in the division and Hooker has a point; he could jump from relative obscurity to being on the verge of calling out a ranked opponent if he was to win.

"I definitely have the skills and the speed to mix it up with these guys," the 25-year-old said.

Hooker has made a noted change this year in his build-up to fights after he joined the Saigon Sports Club in Vietnam, as opposed to training in Auckland.

"I've definitely put in the hard work," he said. "It's not been easy. It's been one of my hardest camps so far. It's been one of my most uncomfortable camps so far. Usually, I'm comfortable at home, I'm comfortable in my own backyard and then I get to fight week and I'm uncomfortable.

"But this is the other way around. I've been so uncomfortable this entire trip, living in Vietnam, travelling and training, putting the hard yards in that I'll get to fight week and I'll feel comfortable."

There's a range of coaches that Hooker has worked under in Saigon, led by head trainer Barry Robinson.

"You've got all these different looks from all these different places," Hooker said. "So just being exposed to so many new ideas is a massive help.

Hooker trains alongside fellow Auckland featherweight Ev Ting (9-2) who is contracted to the ONE Championship promotion. Ting will step inside their cage on May 22 in Singapore against Russian Marat Gafurov (10-0).

"I love it there," Hooker said of Saigon. "I like the training. I like the managers, I like the lifestyle. We are getting looked after well."

One other man who has claims to having plenty to gain from his bout this weekend is headliner Mark Hunt (10-9-1) who will battle American Stipe Miocic (12-2).

If Hunt, the Sydney-based Kiwi, was to win, there's a chance he may earn a heavyweight title shot at the scheduled UFC 193 card in Melbourne in November.

Hunt, the oldest heavyweight on the UFC roster, poses an interesting match-up for Miocic who is fourth in the promotion's divisional rankings, one spot ahead of Hunt.

Gold Coast-based New Zealander Dylan Andrews (17-6, 1 NC) will meet English middleweight Brad Scott (9-3) as he looks to get back in the win column after losing his previous two bouts.

Auckland-born Australian middleweight Robert Whittaker (13-4) will take on the 14th-ranked Brad Tavares (13-3) in the co-main event.