Dan Hooker News

Adam D Martin - July 21, 2019

After getting beaten down by Edson Barboza in his last fight, Dan Hooker badly needed a win at UFC San Antonio to save face. The New Zealander did just that, as he went into enemy territory against the hometown hero James Vick and came through with arguably the biggest win of his UFC career to date. Hooker needed just 2:33 into the first round to brutally knock out Vick and reestablish himself as a force to be reckoned with in the UFC lightweight division. Hooker didn’t waste any time calling his shot for his next fight when speaking to reporters backstage following the event, calling out Al Iaquinta for a fight.

Chris Taylor - July 20, 2019

A lightweight bout between Dan Hooker and James Vick took place on the main card of tonight’s UFC San Antonio event. Dan Hooker (17-8 MMA) enters tonight’s contest looking to rebound, this after having his four-fight win streak snapped by Edson Barboza this past December.

Tom Taylor - January 14, 2019

Over the weekend, UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker had his wallet stolen from his truck. From the sounds of it, he’s nearly tracked down the thief behind this crime.

Cole Shelton - December 16, 2018

Last night, the UFC held its final show on FOX and had two very important lightweight fights as the main and co-main events. Both fights had major implications on the rankings and on the contendership situation.  In the end, Al Iaquinta defeated Kevin Lee by unanimous decision in the main event, while in the co-main, Edson Barboza put on a dominating performance with a TKO win over Dan Hooker. With these wins, Iaquinta will surely soar up the rankings, while Edson Barboza is likely to hover around the number five spot. The biggest question to emerge from the card is what will Kevin Lee do next. Many believe he should go up to welterweight, but he is one of many fighters clamoring for a 165-pound division.

Christopher Taylor - December 15, 2018

The co-headliner of tonight’s UFC on FOX 31 event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin featured a key lightweight battle between perennial division contenders Dan Hooker and Edson Barboza. Edson Barboza (19-6 MMA) entered tonight’s contest looking to rebound, this after suffering losses to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Kevin Lee in his two most recent octagon appearances.

Chris Taylor - December 15, 2018

In the co-main event of UFC on FOX 31, lightweights Dan Hooker and Edson Barboza squared off in hopes of moving up the 155-pound ranks. Barboza (19-6 MMA) entered tonight’s contest looking to rebound, this after suffering losses to the aforementioned Khabib Nurmagomedov and Kevin Lee in his most recent octagon appearances.

Drake Riggs - September 5, 2018

With plenty of stellar matchups on the horizon, another one in the lightweight division has been made for the UFC’s final show on primetime Fox. After finding himself on the receiving end of two incredibly one-sided beatdowns, perennial top 10 contender Edson Barboza (19-6) is ready to try and rebound. But he’ll have to do so against one of the hungriest rising contenders in the division who has more than enough momentum to ride at the moment.

Drake Riggs - July 16, 2018

There were several big winners on July 7th at UFC 226. Two of which were lightweight fighters who could potentially cross paths one day. In fact, that’s exactly what Dan Hooker’s coach Eugene Bareman hopes happens next for his fighter.

Tom Taylor - May 20, 2018

UFC 226, which already stands out as the most stacked card of the year thus far, keeps getting better. The latest dynamite booking to be added to the lineup is a lightweight scrap pitting New Zealand’s Dan Hooker against Brazil’s Gilbert Burns. This bout was first reported by Stuff.

Tom Taylor - April 27, 2018

New Zealand lightweight Dan Hooker is now on an impressive three-fight win-streak, and he’s hoping to be rewarded for this success with a big step up in competition. In particular, he’s hoping to fight former World Series of Fighting lightweight champion Justin Gaethje, who he considers “the stupidest guy in the division.” Hooker made his callout of Gaethje on a recent episode of Submission Radio. Here’s what he had to say about the former WSOF champ:

Chris Taylor - April 21, 2018

VIDEO | Dan Hooker destroys Jim Miller at UFC Atlantic City A lightweight scrap between veteran Jim Miller and rising contender Dan Hooker kicked off tonight’s UFC Fight Night 128 main card in Atlantic City.

Justin Golightly - March 16, 2018

As far as quality of competition goes, Dan Hooker is on the best streak of his career. Two finishes back-to-back over Ross Pearson and Marc Diakiese has led him to his biggest challenge yet. Jim Miller is not only Hooker’s next opponent, but a fighter that he respects. That doesn’t mean he’s not going to try to knock him out with a liver shot at UFC Atlantic City. “Jim Miller’s been a big name since I first started watching UFC. I think this fight will tie him with Michael Bisping for the most UFC fights of all time. I think he’s on 28, and then our fight will make him 29, so that will tie him for the most UFC fights ever. So there’s a lot of guys going around calling themselves ‘UFC veterans’ after a couple of fights, but Jim Miller is about as veteran as you come. So this is a fight, you know, I relish a name like that. I love it when you get that name and it’s someone you look up to, it’s someone you recognise their name and you think back to all the fights you’ve seen them have, all the wars. So yeah, I like seeing the posters up there with our names squared off against each other.”

Tom Taylor - June 11, 2017

Last night, on the main card of the UFC’s latest trip to New Zealand, Kiwi star Dan Hooker made the jump from featherweight to lightweight, where he debuted against hard-nosed British veteran Ross Pearson. Despite being the much less experienced man in the cage, Hooker’s lightweight debut couldn’t have gone better, as he flattened his veteran foe with a crushing knee to the face mid-way through the second round. Because it was so beautifully timed and executed, Hooker’s knee-induced knockout defeat of Pearson is being talked about by many fans and pundits as a knockout of the year contender. According to Hooker himself, however, it was just a lucky strike.