Dan Hooker Names 'Reminder' That Teammate Israel Adesanya's KO Of Alex Pereira Gave Him
Among the large Oceanic contingent of fighters set to be in action this weekend at UFC 290 is lightweight contender Dan Hooker, who currently occupies the #12 spot at 155 pounds.
While losses at the hands of Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler, and Islam Makhachev saw “The Hangman” tumble down the divisional ladder in recent years, he defended his place in the rankings last November at UFC 281.
And having rebounded by stopping Claudio Puelles, Hooker has his sights set on a rise back towards title contention, an ambition he can take a sizable step closer to achieving in Las Vegas on July 8.
On Saturday’s main card, Hooker will share the Octagon with the highly touted Jalin Turner, who was on a fast rise up the ranks before narrowly falling short against Mateusz Gamrot this past March at UFC 285.
Hooker, however, will be looking to add to the woes of “The Tarantula,” and he’s bringing with him a hefty chunk of inspiration from a notable teammate and countryman.
Hooker Inspired By Adesanya’s Risk
Three months ago, members of New Zealand’s City Kickboxing gym were in Miami for Israel Adesanya’s PPV headliner against Alex Pereira. The bout came shortly after “The Last Stylebender” had been dethroned by “Poatan” via fifth-round TKO.
But at UFC 287 in April, Adesanya won back the middleweight crown in a big way, brutally knocking Pereira out before delivering one of the most memorable post-fight celebrations and speeches in recent memory.
For Hooker, the Nigerian-New Zealander’s success provided a welcome reminder about the importance of “risk versus reward.”
“(I’m) just following the system that’s been in place and has had such success for teammates, which I’ve seen firsthand. It’s pretty hard evidence to argue against,” Hooker said of his maturity as a fighter while speaking to ESPN MMA’s Brett Okamoto. “I watched (Adesanya’s win) at home in New Zealand… Kind of isolated myself for that fight. I think I was stressing too much.
“There was a lot on the line. There was a lot of emotion there. Any of my teammates fight, it’s like, a physical response. I don’t process the emotions so well,” Hooker continued. “I think that’s like, a lasting affect for years. I think that had a huge impact; his speech, just how the story played out. I was super inspired by that. That’s our sport. Maybe it’s just a bit of a reminder to me, like, yeah, it’s risk versus reward. Without any risk, there’s no reward.”
And that mentality is exactly what’s carried Hooker into a potentially make-or-break date in the cage with Turner this weekend at T-Mobile Arena.
“Jalin Turner’s a risky opponent, but that’s who I need to beat to get back to where I wanna be.”
With a victory on Saturday, “The Hangman” has been vocal about his desire to push to the top with bouts against top 10 opposition such as Arman Tsarukyan.
Before looking at the next step, however, Hooker will have a tough task to accomplish at UFC 290, and one that a number of his fellow Oceanic fighters have failed to achieve in recent years.
The takeover has begun! 🇦🇺🇳🇿
Six ANZ fighters are ready to own Vegas on International Fight Week 👊
📺 #UFC290 | Live Sunday | Order at https://t.co/shB938mzfl pic.twitter.com/jK0ZnBbUJt
— UFC_AUSNZ (@UFC_AUSNZ) July 4, 2023
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