A brand new heated rivalry has recently developed within the UFC’s lightweight division.
Dan Hooker is preparing for a fast turnaround when he returns this weekend at UFC 325 in Sydney.
While ‘The Hangman’ is back in one other eye-catching contest, his matchup with Benoit Saint-Denis isn’t the one big clash at 155 kilos that can happen this month January.
Hooker told Paddy Pimblett that it’s “on site” between them following some controversial comments that were exchanged between the 2 men.
Following the final result of the interim lightweight title fight this past weekend, many questioned whether a clash between them could possibly be next.
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Dan Hooker doesn’t wish to ‘shoot himself within the foot’ by chasing after Paddy Pimblett
The feud between Paddy Pimblett and Dan Hooker isn’t going away anytime soon, which isn’t surprising considering what was said between them.
On January 24, ‘The Baddy’ suffered his first loss contained in the Octagon when he was beaten by Justin Gaethje over five rounds.
Pimblett’s latest rivalry with ‘The Hangman’ would surely make for an enormous bounce-back matchup for the Brit if the best cards fall into place.
Hooker reinforced his “on site” claim during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, saying that in the event that they meet in person there’d be no room for communication.
“What’s there to discuss? That goes for anyone,” he said. “Anyone says that to me, anyone makes a comment like that towards me, I’ll kick your head in.”
Despite this, the 23-fight UFC veteran said that he didn’t get any pleasure from watching Pimblett lose to Gaethje and surprisingly said that he won’t pursue a matchup with him after UFC 325.
“That’s the dumbest thing you possibly can possibly do,” Hooker said about chasing a fight with Pimblett. “He p—– me off, I p—– him off back. That’s all the time going to be there but that’s why I needed to p— him off back so then I’m not only sitting around and I’m upset about it. He’s gonna take some day off, we’ll see how this fight plays out obviously. I’m not gonna return and shoot myself within the foot because I’m mad.”
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What’s your thoughts on Paddy Pimblett after UFC 324?
‘The Baddy’ showed tons of heart during his five-round war with Justin Gaethje.
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Dan Hooker has his eye on a few other big fights at lightweight
Dan Hooker doesn’t wish to fight Paddy Pimblett simply because there’s now some bad blood between them.
‘The Hangman’ suggested several other options during his appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show that could possibly be next for him with a win at UFC 325.
“There’s some big fights,” he said. “There’s obviously the BMF [title fight] and brother, I guarantee you between me getting through this fight and getting my hand raised against BSD [Benoit Saint-Denis], there’s still nobody between me and Arman [Tsarukyan] that wishes to fight him except me. I feel bad, I like Arman now. He’s won me over as a fan.”
A BMF title fight would definitely be an enormous matchup for Hooker, though there’s no denying that a clash with Pimblett in 2026 could be a highly anticipated showdown.
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