"That place is terrible to me" - Dan Hooker jokes he'll never go back to Abu Dhabi after losses to Michael Chandler and Islam Makhachev on Fight Island
Dan Hooker is not keen on competing in Abu Dhabi again.
During his recent appearance on MMA journalist Ariel Helwani's show The MMA Hour, 'The Hangman' joked that he does not want to compete in the capitol of the United Arab Emirates again. Hooker laughingly stated his prior experiences in the city as his reason for the decision:
"I am never going back [to Abu Dhabi]. That place is terrible to me," said Dan Hooker.
You can watch the full Dan Hooker interview below:
The 31-year-old has competed twice in Abu Dhabi and has lost both times. Hooker's first fight in the city took place at UFC 257. in the co-main event, 'The Hangman' took on Michael Chandler, who was making his UFC debut.
Chandler made light work of Hooker and knocked him out in the opening minutes of the fight.
The New Zealander's next fight in Abu Dhabi got scheduled for October. After coming off an impressive win against Nasrat Haqparast at UFC 266, 'The Hangman' agreed to a short-notice fight against rising lightweight contender Islam Makhachev for UFC 267.
Hooker again failed to get his hand raised as he was finished by the Dagestani in the first round with a kimura lock.
Dan Hooker could potentially move down to featherweight
45 look alive. https://t.co/JU0pl0tKkV
Dan Hooker recently did a test weight-cut and uploaded a video of himself on social media weighing 146 pounds. During his appearance on 'The MMA Hour', Hangman said there is a possibility that he might move down to featherweight. The featherweight division is currently ruled by his City Kickboxing teammate Alexander Volkanovski.
If the New Zealander does go ahead with this plan, it wouldn't be his first run in the UFC as a 145-pounder. Hooker has competed six times in the UFC as a featherweight. The 31-year-old managed to win three of his fights.
It would be interesting to be see if Hooker would do better in his second potential run as a 145-pounder.