Now that he’s back in the top five, Dan Hooker will look to take a more cautious approach.
Hooker (24-12 MMA, 14-8 UFC) re-entered the UFC’s top-five lightweight rankings after outlasting Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 305 earlier this month. Hooker recalls how the last time he was a highly ranked contender, he took a big risk that didn’t pay off.
“I kind of have learned that from my first rodeo, is to just kind of not do anything dumb this time around,” Hooker told ESPN Australia. “I mean, the last time I was No. 5, I agreed to fight Michael Chandler. Gave Michael Chandler a shot, it was his first fight in the UFC.
“I flew to Abu Dhabi, so other side of the world with absolutely no coaches, and went and fought him with a guy I’d been training for six months in my corner. It was not the smartest of decisions, so I guess this time around, I’m just not going to do anything dumb or sell my title shot again.”
Hooker is now more centered with his management and team guiding him. He revealed that the UFC bounced the idea of Charles Oliveira for him next, and how he’d also be open to No. 1 contender Arman Tsarukyan.
“The Hangman” went from losing four of five to a three-fight winning streak.
“I appreciate my team and my coaches a lot more than I did before,” Hooker said. “I had the bad string during COVID. It was just obviously very difficult as an international fighter competing during COVID – especially in New Zealand where we had some of the harshest lockdowns in the world.
“You could just see in those fights, I was doing it without my coaches and without my team. I guess when I just came back, it’s a greater appreciation for the role that those guys play in my career.”
