Dan Hooker thinks Conor McGregor broke a 'simple rule of fighting' by accepting Dustin Poirier rematch
Dan Hooker recently shared his two cents on a variety of topics while talking to the South China Morning Post. Talking about the rematch between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier at UFC 257, Hooker said that it might not have been wise for McGregor to accept the rematch against Poirier.
Talking about the 'thumb-rule' of fighting that McGregor missed out on, Dan Hooker told John Hyon Ko:
"It’s hard for me to comment on the mistakes he (Conor McGregor) is making or the things he is doing wrong. When I, like the rest of us, have only seen pictures and pieces here and there on social media. I can’t comment on being very experienced in this game or if I was in the same position," said Hooker.
"Like that’s just one of the thumb rules - you knock a guy out in the first round, you never take a rematch unless you can do better than the first time. That’s the simple rule of fighting, never take a rematch unless you can do better than the first time," explained Hooker.
Dan Hooker is sceptical about McGregor's third fight against Poirier
Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier traded blows for the first time at UFC 178 in the UFC's featherweight division. The two then fought for a second time at UFC 257 after both fighters had moved up a weight class.
While Conor McGregor knocked out Dustin Poirier in the first round at UFC 178, Poirier exacted revenge seven years later after scoring a TKO victory over McGregor in the second round of the bout.
The fact that UFC 257 saw both fighters gain the highest earnings of their careers is the reason why a rematch was immediately in the works.
With the trilogy fight between Conor Mcgregor and Dustin Poirier set for UFC 264, Dan Hooker thinks that the rematch might not be the best possible fight for the Irishman. Questioning Conor's decision to accept the rubber match, Dan Hooker said:
“It’s even strange that he is taking the rematch in such a short space of time… Even in 4, 5, or 6 months, that’s not a lot of time to make any real kind of adjustments. That’s not a great deal of time to adjust and improve," said Dan Hooker.
"It would be probably wiser to take one or two other fights and then come back to that fight… It would give him the time to make the adjustments before setting up a rematch," Hooker added.