For Dan Hooker, his next fight has gotten personal.
Hooker (19-8 MMA, 9-4 UFC) will headline his first UFC show, a five-round lightweight bout vs. Paul Felder (17-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) at UFC on ESPN+ 26 in his home country of New Zealand.
The two engaged in a very intense face-off last month in Auckland, and Felder had some words to say about their upcoming encounter in a recent interview with MMA Junkie.
Among them, Felder mentioned that he plans on knocking Hooker out in front of all his friends and family, and naturally, “The Hangman” didn’t take too well to that. He felt the fight was going to sell out regardless, considering the implications of the matchup in the division.
“It’s definitely crossed that line for me,” Hooker told MMA Junkie. “I didn’t feel that this fight needed any of that. I didn’t feel like this fight needed anything added to it, you know? We’re two of the best, we’re both just brawlers, we love to come in there and throw down.”
“I don’t think it was necessary, but if he wants to start throwing those things out there, I’m not going to sit back and take it. I’m going to retaliate, I’m going to bring the heat and yeah, it’s definitely crossed the line for me, gone into a very personal nature.”
Hooker has finished five of his last six wins and has only gone the distance twice in his 19 pro wins.
And despite Felder only being stopped once in his career – and that only due to doctor’s stoppage – Hooker vows to be the first one to completely take him out.
“I’m going to fold that boy like a deckchair, I promise you,” Hooker said.
“I think it’s going to be a fast start. Whether it happens in the first or the fifth, I do not care. It’s up to him. It’s when he wants to take those risks, but I’m chinning that boy, I promise.”
While the bout should be fireworks as long as it lasts, for Hooker, being in his first promotional main event also means potentially going 25 minutes for the first time in his career.
The City Kickboxing fighter insists he loves the idea of having a full five rounds to work.
“My style is built around that,” Hooker said. “I don’t hold guys on the ground just to score points. I don’t throw my strikes to score points. I try to take as little damage as possible while taking the guy out as violently as possible, so I would prefer no time limit. So 10 minutes or an extra 25 minutes, that suits me perfectly. That’s just more time for me. I don’t need to touch you once to take you out, so if you give me an extra 10 minutes, woo wee, I’m going to take my time.”
The lightweight picture is slowly starting to unfold with the upcoming title fight between champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson at UFC 249. Meanwhile, a couple of hungry contenders are waiting in the wings.
Hooker is confident that a win over Felder will put him in that top-contender conversation, and he’s already made his intentions clear that he’s ready for the division’s best with his post-fight callout of former UFC interim lightweight champ Dustin Poirier after battering Al Iaquinta in his last outing at UFC 243.
“It gets me a shot at the top-five, without a shadow of doubt,” Hooker said. “We’ve got the Tony-Khabib fight coming up. (Justin) Gaethje’s waiting in the wings; he looks like he’s going to be the next shot or Conor (McGregor). Conor’s on a no-fight win streak at the moment, Gaethje’s on a three-fight win streak. Win over Felder puts me on a three-fight win streak, so that puts me in the same position as Gaethje, so either we fight, or he gets out of my way.”
“Main event, finish over Felder, that puts me in the top-five position. That gives me a crack at one of those big-name guys, 100 percent.”
Dan Hooker says Paul Felder fight personal: 'I'm going to fold that boy like a deckchair'