Following a loss to Islam Makhachev at UFC 267, Dan Hooker had a decision to make about his future.
Despite finding success competing in the lightweight division, he was looking at a long road back to title contention after falling to 1-3 over his past four fights, including losses to Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler. After starting his UFC career, he began to consider a featherweight return.
Recognizing the mistakes he previously made while cutting to 145 pounds, coupled with his prospects at lightweight, gave Hooker all the motivation he needed to make a change.
“That’s the real motivating factor to go down to featherweight, is that I didn’t want to tread water at lightweight,” Hooker told MMA Fighting. You want to become a world champion. That’s your goal, so you want to get there as quickly as you possibly can. This is the quickest path for me. If I would have stayed at lightweight, I would have had to kind of sit there and gatekeep the top 10 for the next 12 to 18 months.
” At this point in my career it isn’t as motivating as working towards a title. It’s motivating to just drop down to the weight I like and then be back in the mix .”
At first, Hooker’s coaches weren’t exactly certain that a return to featherweight was totally warranted, but it wasn’t because they were worried that he couldn’t make 145 pounds safely.
“They [didn’t] necessarily resist,” Hooker said on The MMA Hour. They believed I could compete against the top guys at 155.. Personally, 145 feels like the weight category where I feel my best, competing at the level .”
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Hooker could not fly back to New Zealand due to restrictions on travel. This meant that Hooker spent more time in the United States.
He was referred to UFC Performance Institute by his trainers, who put Hooker through several tests in order to determine how safe it would have been for him to lose 145 weight.
” “Advancements have been made in weight loss science,” Hooker stated. “It’s kind of incomparable when I used to be making it. The UFC didn’t even have a Performance Institute, let alone a nutrition department, let alone these guys who are weight cutting specialists and working with a fight dietician, who is kind of monitoring everything.
” I knew it was possible, but the question is not whether it can be done safely or if it could still be performed. It’s not like I just eyeballed it.”
Hooker admitted that fighting at featherweight will require him to be very disciplined with his diet, which will need to continue even in the offseason when he doesn’t have a fight scheduled.
He is confident that the division change will benefit him.
” I just try to stay lighter between fights,” Hooker said. Hooker explained, “That’s another matter. At lightweight you can blow out and I can eat what I like. So it’s tracking your weight between fights so there’s no big yo-yo.
“I’m at the stage now where you’re a professional about it. Whether you have a fight or you don’t have a fight, you just treat it like a professional athlete. These huge weight reductions .”
are not a normal thing.
As he returns to featherweight, Hooker will instantly draw Arnold Allen, a leading -15 ranking opponent. Allen currently sits at No. 11 on the MMA Fighting Global Rankings, while Hooker also holds a perfect 8-0 record at the UFC.
Hooker had no hesitation whatsoever about jumping right into the deep end in the division, because he doesn’t want to waste any time as he continues to pursue a UFC title.
“You have a guy such as Arnold Allen who is on an 8-fight winning streak. It’s hard to believe that someone on this win streak hasn’t been in title contention.” Hooker stated.
” To take on the momentum of someone like that and have a streak like that is exciting for me. It’s very motivating .”
If there’s one potential conflict for Hooker in his new home, it’s that his chase to become champion could put him directly in the path of his teammate, Alexander Volkanovski, who currently holds the UFC’s 145-pound title.
Hooker doesn’t want to look at all the negative aspects of the situation. He prefers to focus on the positive side to what he sees as an opportunity to be with the top featherweights in the sport every day.
” We’re in a position to cross the bridge once we get there,” Hooker stated. There are many things that could happen. It’s such a volatile sport. To worry about a maybe in the sport of maybes is a difficult thing. It’s kind of distracting and sidetracking. He has fights and I have fights. It’s not necessary to cross the bridge. It’s an excellent problem.
“It is the same as Brad Riddell, who was my training partner and teammate when he made his way to the UFC lightweight division’s top 10. He had to win all his fights. He should be able to reach the highest heights possible. Because they are your teammates, you want them to succeed. It’s a good problem to have that your friends are so good at fighting — that, in all the people in all the world, it might come down to you and your mate. To me, it’s a good problem to have.”
Hooker promises there won’t be any drama stirred up between him and Volkanovski, because that’s just now how the team at City Kickboxing operates.
If anything, Hooker plans to root for Volkanovski every step of the way, and if the day ever comes that they’re in line to fight each other, then they’ll deal with it.
“You just want all your friends to win,” Hooker said. “You want them all to be successful. There have been teams that are not in the same weight category, and one member of the team is able to achieve a lot more success than the other members. This can lead to jealousy. It’s just not like that for our team. Everyone just wants the best for everyone. Like we say, one of us wins, we all win; one of us loses, we all lose. This is why we find ourselves in this position. Our team is represented by us.
” Anything can happen. This is a wild sport. Alex might end up as a double champ, fighting at lightweight and something insane like that. That’s what I want for him. He is my success. I don’t want my success at his expense.”
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