“What a dumb sport we play” – Dan Hooker explains BIZARRE reason to laugh when teammate Alexander Volkanovski was knocked out cold at UFC 298

Dan Hooker reasons why he laughed at Alexander Volkanovskoi getting knocked out at UFC 298.


“What a dumb sport we play” – Dan Hooker explains BIZARRE reason to laugh when teammate Alexander Volkanovski was knocked out cold at UFC 298

Dan Hooker explains laughing to Ilia Topuria knocking out Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 (via Instagram/Imago)

Alexander Volkanovski, the long-reigning featherweight champion lost his title to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298. The way ‘El Matador’ finished Volkanovski shocked the MMA community. He backed ‘The Great’ against the fence and landed a thunderous right hand to put him out cold. Volkanovski’s teammates and friends including Israel Adesnaya and Dan Hooker watched the fight on PPV. While everyone in the room was shocked at ‘The Great’ falling down on the canvas, ‘The Hangman’ was caught laughing.

In the UFC 298 reaction video on ‘The Last Style Bender’ YouTube channel, Dan Hooker was laughing at Alexander Volkanovski’s loss. This soon garnered much attention from MMA fans, who bashed ‘The Hangman’ for his act. Now, in a response, Hooker reasoned why he laughed and said (he laughed at) ‘At how dumb this sport is.’ Further, in another tweet, he explained it in detail. Here is what he said:

Volk in my opinion is the best to ever glove up, he’s looking great and from my understanding of the game-plan had begun to establish ascendency. Then he just gets caught, disbelief and then I thought “what a dumb sport we play and laughed at myself.
Dan Hooker (via X)
YouTube video

Dan Hooker acknowledged his friend, Alexander Volkanovski, as one of the greats to ever compete in MMA. As such, he analyzed Volkanovski’s fight with Ilia Topuria and claimed that ‘El Matador’ caught him while he was beginning to dominate. Looking at the scenario, ‘The Hangman’ couldn’t do anything but laugh at the uncertainty in the sport of MMA.

FS Video

While Alexander Volkanovski has lost his fight with Ilia Topuria, he wanted a second go at him. As such, he eyed a rematch with him in the enemy territory of Spain. Whether this comes to fruition or not is to be seen. As for Dan Hooker, he was recovering from a hand injury he suffered last November. As such, he looked forward to competing this year.

Dan Hooker shares an update on his recovery

Dan Hooker injured his right hand in his previous fight with Jalin Turner at UFC 290. As such, he went through surgery and remained on the sidelines for some time. Soon after his recovery, Hooker booked a fight with Bobby Green in December 2023. Unfortunately, he injured the same arm during sparring, just a week before his return. Subsequently, he had to get surgery again and go through rehabilitation.

Dan Hooker
Dan Hooker (via Instagram)

Now, in his recent Instagram post, Dan Hooker mentioned he was nine weeks post-surgery. Throughout rehab, ‘The Hangman’ has kept himself sharp and accountable. Further, he maintained his fit physique and flaunted it on the post. Also, he stated he was itching to get back in action again and imagined about his next opponent. Here is what he said:

 9 weeks post surgery, staying sharp and improving my skills. Itching to get back to full contact and dreaming of my next violent encounter.
Dan Hooker (via Instagram)

Dan Hooker is currently ranked #10 in the lightweight division and looked forward to climbing up the rankings. He once fought the former interim champion, Dustin Poirier, in a barn burner of a fight that even earned the ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus. However, since then, he went 3-3 in his recent fights. As such, he wanted to make a statement in his comeback fight.

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