Dan Hooker targets summer return, thinks Rafael dos Anjos matchup makes sense

Undeterred by his current losing skid, Dan Hooker wants to continue climbing up the lightweight ladder.

Hooker (20-10 MMA, 10-6 UFC), who’s lost his past two in a row to former interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier and current title challenger Michael Chandler, is looking to get back on track.

A name that excites him is former 155-pound champion Rafael dos Anjos (31-13 MMA, 19-11 UFC), who’s ranked No. 6 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie lightweight rankings, while Hooker sits at No. 9.

“Anyone ranked above me would be a good fight for me,” Hooker recently told “Submission Radio.” “But yeah, fights that make sense. I like the ‘RDA’ fight. Like, former champ, I respect his skillset, I respect the way he carries himself, and I feel like that’s a fight that makes a little more sense if he can’t get one of the bigger fights that he’s chasing, to kind of take him up on his offer.”

He continued, “I’m not holding on to any names in particular. Whether they’re ranked higher than me, whether they’re ranked lower than me. I know from a practical aspect, I’m coming off two losses. So, I’m not in a position to go calling my shots anymore. I need to get back on a win streak until I’m in a position like that again. For me, it comes down to a timing thing.”

Dos Anjos recently teased a fight offer against a top contender on the UFC 264 card on July 10 but did not mention any names. If it is Hooker, it would fall perfectly in line with “The Hangman” and his desired timeline for a comeback.

Got a call couple days ago to fight a top contender on the division, I said yes, I’m waiting on the other side #ufc #July10th

— Rafael dos Anjos (@RdosAnjosMMA) April 14, 2021

Hooker is also targeting a summer return. In his past loss to Chandler at UFC 257 in January, Hooker was without his usual cornermen due to a schedule clash, and he’d rather not be in that predicament again.

“For me, I’m ready to go in June,” Hooker said. “July would be outstanding to get a fight on. Yeah, it’s just down to the big fella (Eugene Bareman). When he points me in the right direction and tells me to shoot, I’ll swing ’em and let ’em go. So, that’s all we’re waiting for. July? Perfect. Perfect. And it comes down to whoever’s ready to go on that date.”

He continued, “It’s when my team’s ready to go, when my coaches are free to go, and whether Israel (Adesanya) fights or (Alexander Volkanovski) fights. I know Brad (Riddell)’s looking for a quick turnaround. When we can get a crew of us to head over and move as a unit, move as a team, I feel like that’s an important thing. I really learned the lessons I need to learn outside of the cage from those last two results. And to rush back in there and go off by myself and do these crazy things again would be a huge mistake.”