Dan Hooker talks about his path to redemption ahead of UFC 281
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Dan Hooker talks about his training
Dan Hooker hasn’t fought at lightweight since 2021. His last outing ended in disaster as the current champion, Islam Makhachev submitted him in the first round. Now, at UFC 281, the Hangman takes on Claudio Puelles at lightweight.
With his comeback to the division coming at the prestigious Madison Square Garden, Hooker will surely want to redeem his reputation as a dangerous fighter, especially after losing his last 2 fights. He had previously announced his intentions of going after a title and on Ariel Helwani’s podcast, Dan relayed what he’d changed since his last outings in the UFC.
Speaking to Helwani, he said, “I don’t feel like I’ve tried to cover anything or tried to hide from anything. I feel like I’ve faced everything and I feel like I’ve fixed everything.” The Kiwi said that the holes in his game were being covered by how good his coaches were. He revealed that Covid-19 and the subsequent isolation helped him realize his shortcomings.
“Being away from your coaches, being away from your team. Then, those holes in your game shone through “, said Hooker. Having a 21-12 record, he also revealed that most people haven’t seen how good he is. While a win against Claudio Puelles won’t make that happen immediately, it will set Hooker on the path to redemption.
Dan Hooker predicts Israel Adesanya’s victory at UFC 281 if he does this
Dan Hooker is a teammate and training partner of UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya. And owing to this, he has the best seat in the house to observe Izzy’s preparation for the Alex Pereira fight. He is a staunch Izzy supporter and believes that Pereira does not hold an advantage over Adesanya when it comes to striking.
Hooker told Submission Radio, “Israel is on another level…I feel like it’s entirely up to Israel. He’s the one who gets to dictate this. I feel like he can beat Alex if he just keeps it on the feet.” Clearly, Dan Hooker is very confident in the striking skills of Adesanya. He also thinks, like many people, that Adesanya was the real winner of the first fight against Pereira.
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Although Dan may think Izzy has it in the bag if he keeps the fight on the feet, Pereira may end up proving otherwise. With a fight on the same card as Izzy, he will want to make sure that the fighters from the CBK gym both win their fights.
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