Dan Hooker tells Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier ‘one of you have to fight me’

UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker put Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje on blast, telling both fighters that one of them will have to fight him next.

“The Hangman” shared the message on his Twitter. Here’s what he said.

“Then you got Gaethje, What’s he going to say, the exact same thing Dustin Poirier just said. He’s going to say ‘I’m waiting for the Irishman.’ Poirier and Gaethje can’t both fight him. One of you have to fight me.”https://t.co/nFcB7ihO0A

— Dan Hangman Hooker (@danthehangman) October 8, 2019

“Then you got Gaethje, What’s he going to say, the exact same thing Dustin Poirier just said. He’s going to say ‘I’m waiting for the Irishman.’ Poirier and Gaethje can’t both fight him. One of you have to fight me.”

The quote is from an interview with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani (quote transcribed by LowKickMMA.com)

It makes sense that Hooker would shoot for the best fighters in the UFC lightweight division. After all, by beating Iaquinta in such dominant fashion, Hooker announced himself to the MMA world as one of the elite lightweights in the sport. That he’s chasing after top-ranked fighters like Poirier and Gaethje makes a lot of sense. Not to mention the fact both of those opponents would put on amazing matchups for the fans.

However, Poirier has indicated that he’s still chasing after a fight against Conor McGregor. As for Gaethje, he wants a title shot against the winner of Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson. But at some point one of these guys will have a fight booked, and Hooker wants whoever is left without a dance partner.

As well, another top-ranked lightweight in Islam Makhachev called out Hooker. However, Hooker doesn’t want that fight right now, saying that the Russian doesn’t have a big-enough name at the moment, although he’s interested in them fighting in the future.

Here’s what Hooker said on Twitter about Makhachev.

https://twitter.com/danthehangman/status/1181447866037858304

“In all serious, I want my first hometown main event to be a sellout. Makachev doesn’t put bums on seats in. We can run it in your hometown after no problem. #nobullshitjustfacts”

Expect the UFC to book Hooker’s next fight soon, with a main event in his native New Zealand very likely. The question now is who his opponent will be.

Who would you rather see Dan Hooker fight next, Justin Gaethje or Dustin Poirier?