Dan Hooker made headlines during UFC 325 media day in Sydney on January 27, 2026, when he revealed an alleged confrontation between Conor McGregor and Paddy Pimblett that dates back several years. The New Zealand lightweight claimed that McGregor drove to Pimblett's Liverpool home and sat outside calling him, but the Scouse fighter refused to come out.β
Speaking during the fight week interview ahead of his co-main event bout against Benoit Saint Denis, Hooker addressed his ongoing feud with Pimblett. The comments came as Hooker criticized Pimblett's behavior pattern of making inflammatory statements before playing the victim.
Dan Hooker Claims Conor McGregor Drove to Paddy Pimblett's House in Confrontation
"This guy talks and then he gets caught on his shit and turns into the victim," Hooker said during the media appearance. "He talked shit about Conor McGregor, then McGregor drove around to his house and sat outside calling the bloke, and Paddy refused to come outside."β
The claim references an incident that allegedly occurred around 2016 or 2017, when McGregor visited Liverpool for the Grand National horse racing festival at Aintree. During that trip, McGregor was documented attending various parties around Liverpool, including ending up in a tree house during what was described as a three-day celebration.
Pimblett himself addressed this incident years earlier in 2021, ahead of his UFC debut. During an interview, he explained that McGregor was "supposedly outside my house" but suggested the Irish star may have knocked on the wrong door. Pimblett stated that his mother had CCTV cameras installed at the time, and no footage captured McGregor at their residence. "If he was outside my house, that was getting videoed and put all over me Instagram," Pimblett said.
The Liverpool fighter speculated that McGregor either wanted to party or confront him, but noted he wished the former champion had actually shown up. Pimblett clarified in 2022 interviews that McGregor was with "another Scouser" during the Liverpool visit and may have been misdirected to the wrong address.β
The tension between Hooker and Pimblett escalated dramatically in January 2026, ahead of Pimblett's UFC 324 interim lightweight title fight against Justin Gaethje. Pimblett made an offensive remark about Hooker's grappling abilities during a podcast appearance, which referenced Hooker's recent submission loss to Arman Tsarukyan.
Hooker responded by mentioning Ricky, a close friend of Pimblett who died by suicide in 2022, sparking fierce backlash on social media. The exchange turned personal quickly, with both fighters trading insults ahead of their respective January 2026 bouts.
Pimblett went on to lose his interim title fight against Gaethje via unanimous decision at UFC 324 on January 24, 2026, suffering his first UFC defeat.
Hooker is scheduled to face Saint Denis in the co-main event at UFC 325 on February 1, 2026, at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney. The event marks Alexander Volkanovski's featherweight title defense against Diego Lopes in a rematch.
