Dan Hooker’s featherweight days are officially over.
“The Hangman” revealed to Submission Radio that he is returning to the UFC’s lightweight division after a brief stint back at the 145-pound division. Hooker defeated Arnold Allen in March at UFC London and lost in the first round. Hooker was hesitant to answer the question “would you give it another go at featherweight?”
“Hooray! I can’t featherweight, Hooker stated. Hooker said, “I am closer to middleweight then I am to featherweight.”
” I felt that I could have stayed at 145,, but it’s a sacrifice. Based on the outcome of my last fight, it seems like I am in exactly the same weight class at both weights. Why not? So why would I sacrifice more? The extra sacrifice was to get me back in the same position that I was in. However, if I was in the same position [as I’m in at lightweight], then I would prefer to be eating and in the same place .”
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“Put your fork in there, Bud, and I’m out the conversation [at featherweight].”
Hooker stated that he took some time to heal from Arnold’s loss and that he gained a few extra pounds.
As far as a timetable goes for his next bout, Hooker is playing it by ear. The 32-year-old is in dire need of a victory having been stopped in two straight, and suffering defeats in four of five most recent appearances.
But ever the gamer, Hooker is always down to face the fighters in his division that nobody else seems to want to share the octagon with.
” I’m simply chilling. I should have a good amount of time off, I should just have a good reset,” Hooker explained. “That’s one thing I realized as well: I’ve just been kind of chasing my tail the last couple of years. I’ve just put the shovel down. It’s still shovel-down mode. It’s like I’m in a shovel down mode. ***, How can I escape this situation? We’ll see, maybe when the UFC comes a little bit closer [in location to me].”
“It will be [against], whoever that is. Obviously, I have my inklings, but it’ll be like all those other situations. If you go back, and look at my fights, and then you ask, “Who do people not want to fight?” That is who you’ll likely end up fighting. Who’s getting turned down left right and center? That’s who I’ll fight next. You can now take a look at this division and ask who you don’t want to fight. That’s me.
” I’m able to get back into the mix. A dog as good as me can’t be counted out. This is just not the way it works .”
