Dan Hooker name-drops top stars including himself reportedly in talks to fight at UFC 305 - "Perth, with the boys"
Dan Hooker has not entered the octagon in nearly a year after breaking his arm in his split decision victory over Jalin Turner at UFC 290 last July. 'The Hangman' appeared set to return to the octagon against Bobby Green at UFC on ESPN 52 in December, but broke his arm in the same place less than two weeks before the card.
He recently revealed that his return could come at UFC 305, which will take place in Perth, Australia this August. During a recent appearance on Sky Sports New Zealand, the No. 11-ranked lightweight stated:
"We'll be in Perth, with the boys. I think, yeah, from looking around the gym. Obviously, there's talks that Israel [Adesanya] - it will be myself, Israel and Kai [Kara-France] coming up at UFC Perth so yeah, I've got my eyes on Perth. I couldn't get an opponent for the [Conor] McGregor card in June [UFC 303] so the next thing I have eyes on is obviously the Perth card so I'm preparing for that."
Hooker continued:
"It'll be exciting. It'll be fun being in the gym with Izzy. It'll be fun being in the gym with Kai and all getting able to prepare together. I've got a mild hint at an opponent, but we'll have to save that for another day, I believe."
Check out Dan Hooker's comments on fighting at UFC 305 in Perth below:
While Israel Adesanya will likely face Dricus du Plessis for the middleweight title, it is less clear who Hooker or Kara-France will face. The latter two City Kickboxing fighters will be returning from injury after over a year of inactivity
Benoit Saint Denis is open to facing Dan Hooker
Benoit Saint Denis is coming off the first loss of his lightweight career after picking up five straight finishes since entering the division. The No.13-ranked lightweight suffered a second-round knockout loss to Dustin Poirier in the co-main event of UFC 299. Speaking to Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie, he revealed that he is open to facing Dan Hooker, stating:
"Yeah, why not? Dan Hooker is a tough fighter. He’s a good fighter. I’m looking to fight anybody. Anybody in the top 15. As much as possible, I would like to face somebody with the best number possible next to his name. So if it’s Dan Hooker, it’s Dan Hooker. I would love it. Yeah, maybe No. 7, maybe No. 6, maybe No. 5."
Check out Benoit Saint Denis' comments on facing Dan Hooker below (starting at the 18:15 mark):
Saint Denis noted that he would prefer to face Arman Tsarukyan, however, he acknowledged that such a bout is unlikely. He expressed an interest in competing when the UFC returns to Paris in September. It is unclear if he would compete at UFC 305 which takes place just six weeks prior.