Dan Hooker recently made a statement with his dominant win over Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 305. Following his win, Hooker, brimming with confidence, called out both Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan for a fight. In fact, ‘The Hangman’ was delighted at proving his doubters wrong and wanted to take on bigger challenges in the lightweight division.
While a fight against Tsarukyan might also provide the Kiwi with a route to the title, Hooker doesn’t even want money in order to face the Armenian. In a recent interview with ‘Submission Radio,’ Hooker revealed how in his backstage talk with Chief Business Officer, Hunter Campbell, he had offered to take on Tsarukyan for free. He was also confident about defeating the #1 lightweight fighter, as he said,
“I was there talking to Hunter, he was like ‘who do you want next?’. I said I want to smash Arman’s (Tsarukyan) face in. I was like I will smash Arman for free. He is still just too much stuck in the past. I just think he is a whinger. Besides that, I feel like he is the toughest next fight to get a title shot.”
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Hooker stated that similar to Gamrot, most people believe that he would not be able to beat Tsarukyan given his fighting style. Therefore, he wants to shut his doubters up once and for all, and also settle a personal grudge as he does not like Tsarukyan.
The Kiwi further revealed that during this conversation his manager was standing right next to him and immediately shot down the idea. Hence, he will not be taking on Tsarukyan for free, although a fight with Oliveira is very much on the table.
A closer look at Hooker vs Oliveira
Hooker is currently on a three-fight streak and ranked fifth in the division. Oliveira on the other hand is ranked second and is fresh off a loss against Arman Tsarukyan. Therefore, a fight between the two makes a lot of sense right now. For starters, both men are dangerous strikers with a high finishing rate, Moreover, it also allows the former champion to take on an in-form fighter and try and halt his winning streak.
The Tsarukyan fight will not work for Hooker as the former is in line for a title shot at the moment. However, Oliveira has expressed his desire to get back into the octagon before the end of the year. Hence, it will be interesting to see if the UFC grants Hooker his wish.
