UFC lightweight fan favorite Dan Hooker has been campaigning for months to be included on the UFC 305 card on August 17, and he seems to have finally been granted his wish.
With the event taking place in Perth, Western Australia, Dan Hooker wanted the opportunity to compete on the card so that he doesn’t have to travel halfway across the world for a scrap, and can instead have one near enough on his doorstep.
‘The Hangman’ hasn’t competed since July 2023, when he beat Jalin Turner at UFC 290. Following that fight, the Kiwi broke his hand and subsequently required surgery.
Dan Hooker turned down a huge fight to compete at UFC 305 instead
Although his UFC 305 bout is yet to be announced, the 34-year-old admitted recently that he turned down a huge offer as he continued to hold out for an offer to compete on August 17.
Verbal agreements are reportedly in place for Hooker to take on number five-ranked lightweight, Mateusz Gamrot, and the promotion is continuing to work on putting that fight together.
“It pretty much came down to me standing my ground and just not budging on fighting in Perth,” Hooker told Submission Radio.
“My management team didn’t want me to fight in Perth, the UFC didn’t want me to fight in Perth, no one wanted me (to fight there). But it’s like, nah, I’m not passing off (that opportunity).
“They said you can wait for Beneil (Dariush) and they’ll do a main event or you can main event (against) the f****** French guy I’ve never heard of and I was just like I want to fight in Perth,” Hooker continued.
The ‘French guy’ in question, is of course Benoit Saint-Denis who will be main eventing the promotions return to Paris in September, and after Hooker turned down the five-round opportunity, ‘God of War’ will take on Renato Moicano.
Hooker looking to return to the lightweight title picture with a big win
The booking may come as a surprise to some, considering ‘Gamer’ weighed in as a backup for the UFC 294 main event between Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski and then went on to pick up a win over former champion, Rafael dos Anjos.
Despite that, a win over a big name like Hooker will likely put the Pole in a good position to call for a title shot if he is able to pick up his fourth win in a row.
“To get a guy in the top five, to get a guy that puts me right back in the mix, like a win over Gamrot puts you right back in with those big fights again, be back in top five and back in title contention, back in the super fights with the names like (Justin) Gaethje and (Dustin) Poirier,” the 34-year-old stated.
Hooker will once again share an event with his teammates, Israel Adesanya and Kai Kara-France, as Adesanya is scheduled to compete for the middleweight title in the main event as he finally settles his feud with current champion, Dricus Du Plessis.
This fight marks the final fight on Hooker’s current contract, and despite the result, he will likely be offered a new deal following August 17.