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How ‘getting his arse kicked’ saved the career of UFC cult hero
UFC cult hero Dan Hooker has admitted losing two fights in a row was the “wake-up call” he needed to get his career back on track.
Hooker is one of the UFC’s longest-tenured stars, having made his debut for the company more than a decade ago and going on to win 14 of his 24 fights.
Dan Hooker after his loss to Benoit Saint Denis in February. Getty
While he’s never reached championship level, Hooker has remained a constant fixture inside the lightweight division’s top-10 rankings, peaking as high as fifth.
The 36-year-old Kiwi is as popular as they come and knows how to put on a show.
However, things away from the cage have started to come back to bite the UFC veteran inside it, losing to Arman Tsarukyan via submission last November, before getting knocked out by Benoit Saint Denis in Sydney earlier this year.
“I wasn’t giving my career the focus it needed,” Hooker told nine.com.au ahead of his fight with Salahdine Parnasse at UFC Paris on Sunday morning (AEST).
“Obviously with success and the fact I’ve been doing this a long time, you get pulled in a lot of different directions.
“That’s the benefit of getting your arse kicked, it’s a real wake-up call, and it makes you re-evaluate what you want. I’ve got a lot of good fighting years left in me and there’s a lot I still want to accomplish in this sport.
“I had to go away and give my career the focus it deserved. I’ve turned the noise down on a lot of other things outside of fighting.”
Hooker (24-14) credited the fresh crop of talent at Auckland’s City Kickboxing gym as a major factor in his mindset shift before a must-win fight.
“We’ve got a lot of hungry young guys in the gym now … I’m like the old vampire who can just suck their youth and energy and add it for myself,” he laughed.
“You see how hard they’re working in the gym and that really reinvigorates you and lights a fire under your arse.”
This weekend’s bout will be the highest pay day of Hooker’s career, and it comes against one of the most hyped young prospects at 155 pounds.
Parnasse has won 23 of his 25 professional fights – including on the Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano event earlier this year – but will be making his UFC debut in his home country and will no doubt have the rabid French fans in his corner.
UFC officials will be wanting Parnasse to perform well and capitalise on the hype, but Hooker won’t be letting the French star have it all his own way.
Salahdine Parnasse celebrates his win on Netflix this year. Getty
“I actually hope this fight goes to the fourth or fifth round,” he said.
“I’d love to drag this fight into deep waters and show off how I’ve been running all these hills and lifting all these weights. I want to make all that hard work worth it and the way to do that is a hard, back-and-forth fight that goes the distance.
“I know a fair bit about this man and I feel like it’s my job to make sure that no one else has to know a fair bit about this man.
“I’ve obviously done a lot of study and a lot of tape on him. I was not familiar with him at all when I first took the fight, but I feel like I know him real well now.
“All the hype is definitely warranted. He’s a big deal in Europe and that’s why we slid into the main event spot. It’s a massive fight here in Europe, a lot of people have been excited to see this kid compete in the UFC for a long time.
“I want a fourth and fifth round. I want to drag this thing out, I didn’t come all this way to get out of here in the first round, I want to drag it out.”
Hooker and Parnasse’s five-round main event will headline the Paris card, which will be broadcast for Australian fans on Paramount+.
Also featured on the card will be popular middleweight veteran Michael “Venom” Page, who is searching for a fourth-straight win against Nursulton Ruziboev.
