"He came in and performed tonight" - Dana White gives his thoughts on Dan Hooker losing in featherweight return
Dan Hooker's return to the featherweight division was spoiled at UFC London when hot UK prospect Arnold Allen scored a standing TKO on the New Zealand fighter halfway through the first round.
It was another tough loss for Hooker, who is now 1-4 over his last five fights, but not all losses are created equal. He had previously only been beaten by fighters in the top five of the lightweight division. He now has this loss at featherweight to a No. 7 ranked Allen.
Arnold Allen makes light work of Dan Hooker. #ufclondon #UFCVegas51 https://t.co/IqwZ5IyExu
On the plus side, UFC president Dana White had nothing but praise for Dan Hooker's performance and how he had Allen hurt at points in their fight. Asked if he thought Hooker should remain at featherweight, White left the door open.
"That's up to him. He came in and performed tonight. He made weight, he came in and went to war with a guy that's undefeated in this weight class. And he can do whatever he wants to."
Dana White says Dan Hooker can do "whatever he wants next" despite falling to 1-4 in his past five fights. #UFCLondon https://t.co/nZgK04IYG3
Watch Dana White's full UFC London post-fight press conference interview below:
UFC London was Dan Hooker's first featherweight fight since 2016
Dan Hooker shocked a lot of MMA fans when he announced following his loss to Islam Makhachev that he planned on returning to featherweight. 'The Hangman' hadn't competed at 145 pounds in over five years, and went from going 3-3 in the UFC as a featherweight to 7-1 at lightweight. It was only when facing competition like Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler that he began to struggle at 155.
But given the advances in nutrition and weightcutting science over the past few years, Hooker was confident he could safely and effectively cut back down to featherweight. There was no problem hitting 145lbs at the UFC London weigh-ins, where Hooker looked lean and mean.
Have gun, will travel. #UFCLondon https://t.co/D7omMy786O
There will undoubtedly be debate on whether the cut affected Hooker's performance in the cage. It could also be that Hooker just ran into a future featherweight top contender in Arnold Allen. This win over Hooker at UFC London is Allen's ninth win in a row, which is the second-longest active streak in the division after Alexander Volkanovski who has ten.
A devastated Dan Hooker leaves the octagon with a towel over his head after dropping his featherweight return. #UFCLondon https://t.co/L4JEQcp1wG