UFC lightweight Dan Hooker returned to winning ways with a statement victory over surging submission specialist Claudio Puelles at UFC 281. Hooker, speaking at the post-fight press conference, discussed snapping his losing streak and eyed a return to action at UFC 284, set to take place in Perth, Australia.
“I feel like I deserve to fight on the first card back down my way. I feel like I’ve done enough to earn a spot on that card. I said [I’ll fight] absolutely anyone that wants to come down there and fight on that date. It’ll be good to train with my training partner, Alexander Volkanovski, for that date, for that card. So any man for that date.
Dan Hooker Demands UFC 284 Spot
The best name that puts his hand up for that date is going to get it. I’ll fight absolutely anybody, just like my entire career. I want to fight the best.” Hooker credited City Kickboxing head coach Eugene Bareman’s tough training methods with his victory.
“That was special to me. That was special to me. Obviously to prove it to everyone and stuff like that, but it was special to me because I did take everything for granted.
I took going to the gym every day for granted. I took being surrounded by my training partners and the best coaches of the world, I took it for granted. I can admit that. And it wasn’t until I had those people taken away from me, that I was on my own and stuck away from them and doing it under those circumstances, that I realized how much those people really meant to me. I feel like everyone I talked to could get the sense of how I was loving this training camp.
Eugene, he was pushing hard and this and that and kicking our ass. I loved every second of it. That’s why you could see me out there having so much fun. It’s just sheer appreciation for my team, sheer appreciation for my coaches, sheer appreciation for all the people around me that love and support me. I’m a dangerous man when I’m happy.”
Dan Hooker was 1-4 in his last five UFC appearances, and his major victory this weekend might be the beginning of another winning trajectory for the popular New Zealand-based fighter.
Do you think we’ll see another classic “Hangman” performance at UFC 284, or will Dan Hooker have to fight once more on foreign soil? Let us know in the comments.
