"I just bought my daughter a house" - Dan Hooker reveals how he is making up for the time away from his family due to COVID-19 quarantine
Dan Hooker has spoken about how he’s making up for the time he’s spending away from his family due to New Zealand’s quarantine restrictions.
Just a matter of weeks ago, we saw Dan Hooker go to hell and back to reach the United States for a fight against Nasrat Haqparast in Las Vegas. In what proved to be a professional and efficient performance, Dan Hooker rose from the ashes of consecutive defeats to beat Haparast and get back into the win column.
Now, on short notice, 'Hangman' will be heading to Fight Island to collide with Islam Makhachev in a fight where he’s considered to be a big underdog. The decision to do this will impact his ability to go home and see his family, but as per Dan Hooker himself, he’s going to make up for that.
Speaking about being away from his family for longer than anticipated, Hooker said at a recent media scrum:
“I think I would’ve gotten out of quarantine a couple of days ago [if it wasn’t for Makhachev fight]. It’s an extra two weeks, but I just bought my daughter a house, so she’ll forgive me! I feel like she’s gonna understand.”
Dan Hooker: "The UFC has been incredible"
While Dan Hooker is sacrificing a great deal to provide for his family and climb the lightweight rankings, it appears as if the UFC is more than happy to accommodate him, given how much of a favor he’s doing for them. 'Hangman' was all praise for the promotion, saying:
“The UFC has been incredible with that as well. We’re here until Monday and then I’ll fly over to Abu Dhabi, fight, come back, and then once I come back, the UFC is flying my family out to Las Vegas. Everything they could do to possibly make this as smooth as possible has been taken care of.”
Dan Hooker has always been known amongst mixed martial arts fans as a warrior, and he’s more than living up to that reputation right now. If he can get the win over Islam Makhachev on Fight Island, there's a good chance he'll be close to a shot at the UFC lightweight title.