"It's important in every match-up; you can dictate where the fight takes place."
As for the running shoes, Hooker is one of the few UFC fighters to publicly support the promotion's controversial Reebok sponsorship agreement.
The exclusive partnership provides fight gear, training attire and other goods for every contracted fighter on the UFC roster.
They also receive a payment after their bout based on their experience within the UFC or previous fights from other affiliated promotions.
For a fighter like Hooker, the guarantee of some free gear and a solid payment is a nice kicker but other fighters have argued that it stopped them from garnering individual sponsors.
"A lot of guys, they're missing out on money or they're losing sponsorships that they already had," Hooker said.
"But as a guy from New Zealand, there were a lot of people that wanted to help and lots of businesses that contacted me but they didn't meet the UFC standards as it is, or they were smaller companies and they couldn't front the kind of money it takes to be a UFC sponsor."
With that in mind, Hooker left for Houston with plenty of room in his suitcase.
"It's a big helping hand to the lower guys coming up from these other countries," he said.
"I hope they give me some new running shoes because I'm not taking mine with me."
The bout with Rodriguez is one that could put Hooker's name in the mix for a fight with a top-level opponent but it won't be an easy outing.
The 22-year-old Mexican won the featherweight category in 'The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America' TV show last year and is highly thought of within MMA circles.
He fights at a rapid pace and mixes nice footwork with a dangerous array of strikes, which stem from his kicks.
"This is a big shot," Hooker said. "You get this one and you go on to bigger and better things whereas if you lose this, you take a step back."
This weekend's card will be headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between champion Daniel Cormier (16-1) and Sweden's Alexander Gustafsson (16-3).
There are also two potential title eliminator bouts between welterweights Johny Hendricks (17-3) and Tyron Woodley (15-3) and light heavyweights Ryan Bader (19-4) and Rashad Evans (19-3-1).
"I'll be showering up quickly and running up to catch those fights," Hooker said.
Hopefully he has those new shoes.
