Dan Hooker eyes BKFC as his "retirement fund," says bare-knuckle fighting looks like "funnest thing" in the world
Dan Hooker is gearing up his return to the octagon in March as he faces Justin Gaethje in a five-round co-main event bout at UFC 313. The No. 6-ranked lightweight recently weighed in on the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, saying that he believes it looks like the most fun thing in the world.
Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, 'The Hangman' was asked if he watched the promotion's event over the weekend, responding:
"I saw the result. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Jeremy Stephens getting the big knockout over Eddie Alvarez... That's my retirement fund. Like, I'm just going to not fight anyone when I stop fighting. No, I'm going to fight people without gloves. That sport looks like the funnest thing for me to do in the world. I don't know what everyone else is into, but that looks like fun."
Check out Dan Hooker's comments on fighting in BKFC below:
Hooker has shown a propensity for enjoying violence during various points of his UFC career. While he does not appear to be closing in on retirement, it appears he has already decided what he will do when he does walk away from mixed martial arts.
Dan Hooker believes Usman Nurmagomedov made a mistake following victory over Paul Hughes
Usman Nurmagomedov defeated Paul Hughes via majority decision at PFL Champions Series 1 last weekend. Dan Hooker believes that he made a mistake when he got on the microphone following the bout. During his recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, the No. 6-ranked lightweight stated:
"I feel like Usman made a mistake when he got on the microphone. When have you ever seen one of the Dagestani boys get on the microphone and say that they were tired, they got hurt, they got pushed to their absolute breaking point?... All he had to do was get on the microphone and say I'll smash anyone... Everyone would've forgotten that Usman and Paul Hughes had a close fight... He humanized himself."
Check out Dan Hooker's full comments on Usman Nurmagomedov below:
Hooker noted that, while Dagestani fighters have been in close fights before, Khabib Nurmagomedov did a great job of creating a myth around them, which Islam Makhachev has carried on. He claimed that once the myth around a fighter is removed, their opponents gain confidence and find them to be more beatable.