Dan Hooker turned down an offer to fight Tony Ferguson, and the UFC Lightweight now reveals why he took that decision.
I’m not here to have veteran versus veteran fights: Dan Hooker
“The Hangman” was last seen in action against Claudio Puelles at UFC 281 in November last year, when he broke a two fight losing skid with a 2nd round TKO victory in the New York City.
Now, the 12th ranked 155-pounder is set to return to the Octagon this Saturday at UFC 290, when he will lock horns with Jalin Turner. However, Turner wasn’t the fight option he was offered.
During an interview with Submission Radio, Hooker revealed that it was Tony Ferguson who was initially offered to him, but as the former interim champion is on a five fight losing streak and it didn’t make much sense to him, to the extent of even offending him.
“I messaged Ash, oh, what’s about this guy for the next fight? And he replied we asked for Tony Ferguson,” said Hooker. “I was so f*cking offended, I was like… That sparked me, I was like, nah, f*ck this. Like the doctors were saying, you gotta wait another month for your hand before you can get back into training. I said f*ck that, and I went and sparred the next day ’cause I was so offended.”
“That’s not what I wanna be, that’s not what I’m here for. I’m not here to have veteran versus veteran fights, I’m here to be the best. I’m here to challenge myself against the best guys in the world,” he added. [H/T BJPenn.com]
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