Dan Hooker knew that he would need to go to dark places to beat Justin Gaethje, likely including a hospital ward.
The number six-ranked lightweight was due to face Gaethje in the co-main event of UFC 313 underneath Alex Pereira’s title defence against Magomed Ankalaev next week. But Hooker has now been forced out with a hand injury, meaning that the UFC will be scrambling for a replacement in the coming hours.
The New Zealand native has insisted that he would be happy to fight through the injury, but that medicals make that nearly impossible. He is now keen to book the bout, which would have been his most high-profile to date, on a new event.
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Dan Hooker is out of UFC 313 with gruesome injury
This morning, a video on Dan Hooker’s daughter’s YouTube channel revealed that he was out of his upcoming fight against Justin Gaethje. The bout was expected to be one of the most exciting on the uFC 313 card, which is now lacking one of its biggest names.
He has since explained that he picked up the injury in sparring and still wanted to fight through it, but might not be able to fit into fight gloves. “One of the paws is not doing so well,” he told Ravinder Hunia during their Sky Sport New Zealand show.
“So sparring last night, as I do, just letting some hooks go I was throwing some bombs down range and caught one of the boys on the dome with my knuckle… I didn’t think too much of it but they sent me off to get a CT scan, had a little CT scan and they told me that my hand is fractured.
“I obviously still would fight. But with the medicals when they squeeze your hands I’d just be there like [cringeing in pain]. We’ll see how it all plays out.”
When Hunia joked that he may not fit into the gloves by the time he gets to Las Vegas he might have needed two different sizes. “I’ll be like ‘can I have one large glove and one 3XL please?’ They’ll be like ‘what?'”
His plan is to have the fight re-booked, although it remains to be seen if Gaethje will remain on the card for UFC 313. “We’ll see if we can kick this fight down the road,” he said in a more sombre tone. “We’ll just wait and see, baby.
“It’s just unfortunate that it was this close. Obviously I’m gutted for all the fans that I know were excited for this fight. That’s probably the main thing, just the lords of war were not happy and they took it away from you.”
Dan Hooker predicted UFC 313 fight would leave him in hospital
Heading into the fight, Hooker was under no illusions as to how violent the potential of a fight with Gaethje would be. The former interim lightweight and BMF champion is known as ‘The Highlight’, and is as infamous as his rival for the brutality of his fights.
And it appears that he knew he’d be heading to the hospital, albeit perhaps not as early as he ended up needing medical attention. “I know full well, 100 percent, that no matter whether his arm gets raised, my arm gets raised, I’m going straight on a stretcher,” Hooker told ESPN days before the fight was called off.
“Straight into the back of an ambulance and I’m going to the hospital. I’ve come to terms with that’s how this night is gonna end baby. I’ve come to terms with that, brother. I’m embracing it.”