Dan Hooker’s surprising pullout of the UFC 313 co-main event has left the MMA community reeling this morning.
The lightweight contender was due to face Justin Gaethje in one of the most exciting matchups of the year in Las Vegas next week. This morning, though, in a YouTube video with his daughter he confirmed that an injured hand had forced Hooker out of the UFC 313 fight.
Both he and Gaethje are two of the most durable and violent fighters in the UFC. However, history tells us that time may be catching up on the New Zealand native after suffering yet another injury that has now cost him his biggest fight.
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Dan Hooker’s injury history examined after UFC 313 pullout
While Dan Hooker is undeniably one of the most fearless fighters in the UFC across the divisions, his style can often leave him open to serious injury. He has been forced out of the UFC 313 co-main event with Justin Gaethje due to what could be a broken hand, which isn’t the first time it has happened.
In March of 2023, he suffered a broken hand that cost him his initially scheduled fight with Jalin Turner. And when they did eventually meet a few months later, he suffered a similarly gruesome injury in the rescheduled bout.
It wasn’t his hand, but his arm, as well as a fractured orbital for good measure. Speaking with his pal Oscar Willis for The Mac Life, he theorised: “I want to say it started going numb in the second round, I want to say that.
“But I was still obviously throwing it because what are you going to do? It’s still going to be broken! You want to have a broken arm and be a loser? I just fought through it and it wasn’t until like the third when I started putting some heat on him.”
In general, Hooker’s fighting style has seen him be sent to the hospital on multiple occasions including the fight.
Dan Hooker vowed to be sent to the hospital in doomed Justin Gaethje fight
In the lead-up to his now-doomed fight with Gaethje, Hooker had been putting in the camp of his life. He knew that the fight was likely to end up with one of both of the men heading to the hospital, and was willing to take that chance.
“I know full well, 100 percent that no matter whether his arm gets raised, my arm gets raised,” Hooker told ESPN Australia. “I’m going straight on a stretcher, 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 going to end, baby. I’ve come to terms with that, brother. I’ve embraced that. So, if someone is not ready to go to the lengths that I’m willing to go to, then they’re going to have a hard night.”
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