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Dan Hooker is currently looking for his next opponent. The Kiwi is an important part of the stacked UFC lightweight division, and would like to be involved in the conversation regarding the championship picture.
Charles Oliveira's recent win against Tony Ferguson has dropped Dan Hooker out of the top five in the UFC rankings and he would like to be back to winning ways at the earliest.
Speaking with Submission Radio recently, Hooker was asked about the UFC lightweight title picture, with a focus on Khabib Nurmagomedov announcing his retirement but also being listed as the lightweight champion.
“I thought Khabib retired and the division moves on. I thought Conor – Dustin should be for the belt. I thought that should be the title fight but they didn’t make it there. Winners fight winners and the situation we are in, whoever is ready and whoever takes the opportunity. That’s just part of the UFC’s business model.
"They will start at the top with the fights they want to make but if one of those guys isn’t ready they just make their way down the list till they finally find someone whom they can justify and makes sense” Dan Hooker said.
‘The Hangman’ was referring to the fight between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor at UFC 257 on January 23, 2021.
The two top-five lightweights had previously fought at UFC 178 in 2014, albeit at featherweight. McGregor won that fight via knockout in the first round.
Will Dan Hooker fight Justin Gaethje next?
Dan Hooker also mentioned in the interview that his next fight was confirmed but he did not disclose the name of his opponent.
In the past, Dan Hooker has made it clear that he wanted to fight Justin Gaethje.
Gaethje last fought at UFC 254, where he was submitted in the second round of his fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov. The Russian would go on to subsequently relinquish the title after the fight.
Dan Hooker on the other hand was last seen in the octagon at UFC Vegas 4 in June earlier this year against Dustin Poirier.
In what was one of the best fights of the year, Dustin Poirier edged out Dan Hooker via a unanimous decision.
