Dan Hooker explains why he turned down Tony Ferguson fight: “So f*cking offended”

UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker has explained why he disapproved of a fight with Tony Ferguson.

‘The Hangman’ has been out of the cage since a knockout win over Claudio Puelles last Fall. That victory was a massive one for the New Zealander, as it snapped a two-fight losing streak. Previously, Dan Hooker suffered lopsided defeats at the hands of Arnold Allen and Islam Makhachev.

Now, the lightweight contender is slated to return at UFC 290 this Saturday against Jalin Turner. In an interview with Submission Radio, Dan Hooker reveals the matchup with ‘The Tarantula’ wasn’t the first pitched to him. Instead, he was first asked about a potential fight against Tony Ferguson.

For his part, ‘El Cucuy’ is set to return at UFC 291 later this month against Bobby Green. In the interview, Dan Hooker admitted that a fight with Tony Ferguson doesn’t fit him right now. With the former interim champion riding a five-fight skid, the New Zealander doesn’t believe it makes sense.

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Image Credit: UFC

“I messaged Ash, oh, what’s about this guy for the next fight? And he replied we asked for Tony Ferguson,” Dan Hooker stated in the interview. “I was so f*cking offended, I was like… That sparked me, I was like, nah, f*ck this. Like the doctors were saying, you gotta wait another month for your hand before you can get back into training. I said f*ck that, and I went and sparred the next day ’cause I was so offended.”

He continued, “That’s not what I wanna be, that’s not what I’m here for. I’m not here to have veteran versus veteran fights, I’m here to be the best. I’m here to challenge myself against the best guys in the world.”

What do you make of these comments? Would you watch Dan Hooker vs. Tony Ferguson?