Dan Hooker feels Paddy Pimblett doesn't have "the skills to hang" at the lightweight level
Dan Hooker recently moved back up to lightweight after an experimental journey to featherweight that lasted all but one fight, mainly due to the severity of the weight cut.
With the Kiwi back at 155 pounds, 'The Hangman' has begun to evaluate his fellow competitors. In a recent interview with It's Time For Sports, Hooker stated that lightweight attraction Paddy Pimblett doesn't have the requisite skills to compete with the division's top fighters.
Whilst discussing Pimblett's skillset, Hooker claimed that the reason why 'The Baddy' isn't eager to face the the division's top-15 fighters is because he knows he will lose:
"[The UFC] want to keep [the hype] going as long as they can, so keep him away from [the best]. Keep him on the, maybe not even the Jared Gordons, you know what I mean!? I don't know... The benefit of the UFC is getting you a title shot in the shortest time possible... Why doesn't he want to take that path? He wouldn't if he didn't have the skills to hang."
Watch the interview below:
Paddy Pimblett's fight with 'Flash' at UFC 282 was far closer than many expected it to be. 'The Baddy' was awarded a controversial unanimous decision victory, with many fans and fighters feeling that Gordon had won the fight.
Dan Hooker is not alone in his evaluation of Pimblett's skillset. Many in the MMA community now believe that if he were to face a top 15-ranked fighter, he would lose in convincing fashion.
Dan Hooker says the UFC are looking for a ranked opponent for him to fight at UFC 284
Dan Hooker recently defeated Claudio Puelles at UFC 281 in dominant fashion. The New Zealander received minimal damage in the fight, and is now hoping for a quick turnaround to fight in Perth at UFC 284 next February.
'The Hangman' is currently ranked at No.11 in the UFC lightweight division, and the promotion are eager to match him up against a fellow top-15 opponent.
During the same interview, Hooker said about a possible fight in Perth next year:
"I said I'd fight someone unranked but it doesn't look like that's going to be the case. It looks like they going to look for a ranked opponent. And the difficulty is getting one of them to accept the fight."
The PPV card in Perth will be headlined by current UFC featherweight champion and native Australian Alexander Volkonovski. 'The Great' will take on UFC lightweight titleholder Islam Makhachev.