Dan Hooker always wants the toughest fight the UFC can make for him, and they’ve certainly set him up this time as “The Hangman” faces No. 1 ranked lightweight Arman Tsarukyan in the main event of UFC Qatar on November 22nd.
Hooker is currently on a three fight win streak and was set to face Justin Gaethje at UFC 313 back in March. Unfortunately, a hand injury took Hooker out. But it may have been a blessing in disguise because Dan says this Arman match-up has given him way more energy than the Justin fight ever did.
“This is the fight that I wanted before the Gaethje fight got matched,” Hooker told CombatTV. “This is the fight that I wanted because I feel like it’s a guy that everyone thinks is gonna beat me. That’s what I want. That’s what I want to fight. That’s why I want to fight. Obviously, everyone wants the fun fights. To me, I want the toughest test.”
Tsarukyan certainly provides that. Stylistically, it’s not a great fight for a striker like Hooker. That just motivates him more to prove the doubters wrong.
“I want the guy that everyone thinks I’m gonna lose to,” he said. “I want the guy that the odds are stacked against. And I feel like this is one of those fights. Big underdog. Can’t wait to see the betting on it. I love it when the boys make a bunch of money off me. I love coming into my fights as a heavy underdog. That’s my favorite. That’s where I thrive. That’s where I do my best work. I’m excited.”
“This fight gets me out of bed. Gaethje didn’t even really get me out of bed. I didn’t even get out of bed for that fight. That’s why it’s exciting to me, and that’s hard for people to understand.”
There’s already been a fair amount of back-and-forth between Tsarukyan and Hooker, with threats of a brawl should the two run into each other on fight week.
“I think he’s a prick,” Hooker said of his opponent. “He’s just been chiming at me since he first got in the UFC, and I’m just not one. I’ll chime back. He discredits me as a fighter. He says that I turned him down and am running away from him and stuff like this. So he’s been carrying on for all these years and I’ve obviously chimed back, and I’m not one to to mince my words when I’m talking back to someone.”
”I just kinda think he’s a spoiled little rich kid that’s had everything handed to him,” he added. “And yeah, I think I’m just the complete opposite of that. Like, I’ve taken everything that I have. I’ve worked hard. I come out of nothing. So I just love to rub it in his face, really.”
“Money can’t help you beat Dan Hooker.”