UFC: Dan Hooker feels it will be ‘very dangerous’ for Justin Gaethje to fight him, targets Rafel dos Anjos
- ‘The Hangman’ says he’s healthy and ‘getting itchy’ to return after defeat by Michael Chandler in January
- ‘Gaethje I feel will sit and wait … behind him, Dos Anjos would be number one on my list,’ Hooker adds
Dan Hooker is “itching” to get back in the UFC Octagon – ideally against Justin Gaethje, or Rafael dos Anjos.
The 31-year-old Kiwi (20-10) is coming off a first-round knockout loss to Michael Chandler last January at UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi. Understandably frustrated, “The Hangman” needed time to build himself back up.
“After a loss like that, of course, it’s disheartening,” Hooker told SCMP MMA. “That burning flame gets kinda extinguished for a bit and it goes back down to an ember. But the ember slowly starts burning again, and it starts getting bigger and turning into a fire. That’s just like that never ending cycle of being a competitive martial artist.
“You get disheartened, the flame goes out. The ember burns bright again and turns back into a flame and you’re itching to fight. I feel like I’m in a position now where my body is healthy. I’ve had a good amount of time off. I’ve recovered well. Recovered like real quickly. I’m starting to get itchy.”
Sitting as the No 8-ranked contender in the lightweight division, Hooker has plenty of options – but there are a couple of names that stick out at the top of the list.
“Obviously, there’s only two real names out there at the moment and that’s Gaethje or RDA,” the Auckland native said. “Gaethje, I feel will sit and wait. His most recent defeat is to Khabib [Nurmagmedov]. Like a lot of people, if you give that enough time, he’ll brush that off.