UFC star Dan Hooker turns down Rafael Fiziev’s challenge

UFC sensation Dan Hooker isn’t interested in facing off against Rafael Fiziev in his next fight.

Over the course of his last few fights, Dan Hooker has been able to inject new life into his career. While he’s still got work to do before being dubbed a title contender, his victory over Mateusz Gamrot was a real statement of intent. Moving forward, he’ll likely be looking forward as opposed to behind him in the rankings.

RELATED: Rafael Fiziev teases incredible showdown against Dan Hooker

With that being said, a few fighters have made it known that they want to square off with Hooker. This includes Rafael Fiziev, who actively said he is interested in taking on ‘Hangman’ in his return fight following a long-term injury.

In a recent interview, however, Hooker revealed that he isn’t interested in fighting Fiziev right now.

Hooker responds to Fiziev

“I don’t want to fight him. I’m not excited for that fight,” Hooker said. “The guy’s coming off two losses. He’s sitting on the shelf. I called him out for the Perth card; I asked him if he wanted to fight on Perth, but he wasn’t ready. Now he’s ready, but that ship has long sailed, mate. That fight does not excite me;. Obviously, it excites him, but I have absolutely nothing to gain from that fight.”

Quotes via MMA News

Dan Hooker is an absolute warrior. With that being said, he needs to be smart about the kind of matchups he takes at this point in his career. We may all want to see a fight with the potential to be this fun, but he needs to think about his spot in the rankings.

Do you believe we will ever see Dan Hooker up against Rafael Fiziev? Let us know your thoughts, BJPENN Nation!