Dan Hooker might have sustained repeated setbacks in his last few fights, but he’s far from losing his confidence and is still hoping for a jaw-dropping comeback, that peaks into him becoming the UFC lightweight champion.
Nothing else interests me except having the belt: Dan Hooker
A former AFC and SFC South Pacific champion, Hooker has suffered four losses in his last fight outings in the Octagon, with his most recent defeat coming against Arnold Allen at UFC London back in March.
All that being said, ‘The Hangman’ is furthest from losing any faith in himself. Speaking to Submission Radio, the 32-year-old New Zealander revealed that he fully believes in making a turnaround and run for the 155-pound title once again, with a confidence boost coming from his recent stint at City Kickboxing.
“I’m very confident in my camp, I’m very confident in my team and my preparation. Brick by brick just means building a strong foundation, because, without a strong foundation it will all collapse,” said Hooker. “I feel like that is the position I was in the past where I had a very high tower. My tower was almost at the top. Like I got into positions where I would’ve been one fight away from the Conor McGregor (fight) or one fight away from fighting for the title. But I feel like it wasn’t a strong foundation. I feel like I had just a stack of five tiers on top of each other, in hindsight looking back.”
Currently ranked 12th in the division, Hooker will be back in action at UFC 281 on 12th November, taking on Peruvian lightweight Claudio Puelles. A comeback win will be vital for Hooker, as well as a first step towards making a run for the lightweight belt which is currently around the waist of his former opponent Islam Makhachev.
“Coming around the bend, it’s about putting those foundations in place. So, when I get back in position, which obviously is a world title,” Hooker continued, “You will not see me compete in the UFC if the objective is not a world title. I’m not interested in anything else. I’m not interested in the money, I’m not interested. Nothing else interests me except having the belt, because the belt means you’re the best fighter in the world. When I lose sight of that, yeah, I really find no interest in fighting without the opportunity to become the best in the world.”
Purchase the UFC merch here.
Click to Predict here.