Dan Hooker slights Tony Ferguson in latest revelation; admits he was offended being offered 'El Cucuy' fight
UFC lightweight Dan Hooker has his sights firmly set on facing top contenders and relentlessly pursuing the most challenging opponents at this point of his career. The New Zealander recently opened up about what drives him and claimed he was offended when the UFC offered him a fight against Tony Ferguson.
The past few years have not been kind to Ferguson, and 'El Cucuy' is currently on a brutal five-fight losing slide. The former interim lightweight champion last tasted victory against Donald Cerrone at UFC 238 in June 2019. Despite his dismal run since then, Tony Ferguson remains a massive superstar among combat sports fans and guarantees eyeballs whenever he features in an event.
In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Dan Hooker explained why the Ferguson fight offer offended him, despite 'El Cucuy's colossal fame. He recalled a conversation with his manager and said:
"I broke my hand and I was easing back into training... My manager asked,"What about this guy?" Like a top contender. I was like, "I'll miss his a**. What about this guy?" He replied,"Oh they asked for Tony Ferguson."
Hooker continued:
"I was so f**king offended... That sparked me... That's not what I want to be. That's not what I'm here for. I'm here to be the best. To challenge myself against the best guys in the world."
Catch Hooker's comments below (13:30):
Alexander Volkanovski on Dan Hooker vs. Jalin Turner at UFC 290
UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski is confident about his friend and teammate Dan Hooker getting the win against Jalin Turner at UFC 290 on July 8. Volkanovski is set to defend his title against interim featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez in the headliner of the same event.
UFC 290 IS LOOKING INSANE
Jalin Turner vs Dan Hooker
UFC 290 | IFW | July 8 | Las Vegas NV | 155 lbs
via Dana White https://t.co/lmP1iNnpxe
Considering Volkanovski and Hooker train together at City Kickboxing gym (CKB), 'The Great' has witnessed 'The Hangman's training camp. In a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Volkanovski revealed that Dan Hooker took his training to a whole new level to prepare for this fight and said:
"Obviously I'm gonna back Dan Hooker 'cause he's my boy. Again, it's a tough fight but he's very durable himself, I think he's stepped everything up in training... He even said he flipped his switch before his last fight... But right now he's taken training to a whole new level."
Watch the full video below:
Hooker is coming off a win against Claudio Puelles at UFC 281 in November last year, which broke his two-fight losing slide. He is 3-2 in his last five outings and needs a statement victory against Turner to get back into title contention.