If he doesn’t get his desired fight against Justin Gaethje, Dan Hooker has noted that he would be interested in a fight against Dustin Poirier.
Hooker is coming off the back of a thrilling win over Paul Felder at UFC Auckland, and while the victory may have been seen as controversial by some who believed Felder should’ve gotten the nod, the fight itself served as undeniable proof that Hooker has the potential to do some big things at lightweight.
While it may be a stacked division Hooker certainly isn’t afraid of calling his shot, and during a recent interview with ESPN, he made it clear that there are two names on his mind right now.
Dustin or Justin. Simple enough. (via @arielhelwani) pic.twitter.com/SS5WFfJqf5
advertisement – continue reading below
The Gaethje fight was one that he immediately called for in the aftermath of his aforementioned win over Felder. “The Highlight” has strung together three straight finishes as of late over James Vick, Edson Barboza and Donald Cerrone, with some recent rumblings suggesting that he could be lined up for a fight against Conor McGregor in the summer.
Dan Hooker clearly wants to try and fast track his way to the top of the division by calling out a big name, and this is hardly the worst way of going about it. While he’d be taking a huge risk by going up against either of these men he knows what a win would do for him, and he also knows that he wouldn’t lose all too much momentum if he did suffer a loss.
Poirier hasn’t really been in the mix ever since he lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov during their UFC 242 showdown in Abu Dhabi, but he has made it clear that he wants to return to the cage sooner rather than later. Will that return come against “The Hangman”? Only time will tell.
Who do you want to see Dan Hooker fight next?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 2/24/2020.