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Dan Hooker hinted at moving down to featherweight after his recent loss against Islam Makhachev at UFC 267.
According to Liverpool-based MMA journalist and broadcaster Nick Peet, Hooker could "shoot to the top or get f***ed up" if he returns to the 145-pound weight class.
Dan Hooker has now reacted to Peet's comments. According to 'The Hangman', Peet was correct in his assessment as there is no room to play it safe as far as he's concerned. Replying to a fan, Hooker wrote on Twitter:
"Where's the lie. Playing it safe is not an option. If you know me, you know that."
Dan Hooker confirms featherweight future
Dan Hooker is seemingly at a crossroads in his career having dropped three of his last four bouts. The New Zealander has now confirmed his desire to return to his old stomping ground and believes he can thrive in the lighter weight class.
'The Hangman' signed with the UFC as a featherweight and ammassed a 3-3 promotional record before moving up to lightweight in 2017.
Dan Hooker initially teased a return to 145 pounds by posting a video where he can be seen successfully dipping under the limit for non-title featherweight bouts on the scale.
Dan Hooker also revealed that he went through the test weight cut just to prove that he can still do it safely. Hooker believes he'll have some advantages in moving back to featherweight. 'The Hangman' recently told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour:
“That’s a strong possibility. The problem was I didn’t really ask, I just talked to Jordi and Charles, my dieticians, and that was it really. I just talked to them and just went along and got the job done and did it. I haven’t even talked to the UFC about it, so maybe Sean Shelby’s seen it, maybe he hasn’t. We’ll see. For one, it’s just an advantage that I haven’t been capitalizing on if I’m being honest. There’s a number of advantages that I haven’t been capitalizing on, but that’s just one of them. So it’s kind of moving forward and learning from the past. You have to make adjustments for the future and that’s just one of them. Getting back, working with my team, that travel opening up to the world. I’m excited for the future. I feel like featherweight is the weight class that I can really thrive at and it’s a weight class where I can really capitalize on all of my advantages."
Catch Dan Hooker's interview with Ariel Helwani below:
