Dan Hooker fancies a fight against either Tony Ferguson or Beneil Dariush.
In a recent interview with Submission Radio, top ten lightweight contender Hooker believes a fight against Ferguson would make for a fan-friendly fight as the thought of fighting “El Cucuy” gets him excited.
“Those are two great fights for me,” said Hooker. “Those are two fights that I would really love. I feel like Tony is just a guy that I would love to fight. I feel like the fans would love to see that fight, I feel like everybody wants to see that fight, and I’m sure that will be one heck of a fight.”
Hooker went on to claim that he would probably receive less credit if he was to beat Ferguson now given that the latter fighter is currently on a three-fight losing streak, and many perceiving the fighter to be a victim of father time. However, Hooker feels the 37-year-old is still as dangerous as he was three fights ago.
“It’s just funny that you’ll get less credit for beating him now, even though I feel like it’s just as tough of a fight than he was three fights ago,” said Hooker. “That fight, when the name gets said, that’s a fight that gets me excited. That’s a fight where you get goosebumps, and you get the adrenaline pumping. And really as a fighter, that’s what we’re in this for,” Hooker said.
Hooker also expressed interest in the surging #3 ranked lightweight contender Dariush, who beat Ferguson in his last outing at UFC 262, describing him quite comically as an ugly girl at a dance where he flies under the radar compared to some of other contenders in the top five, but is probably the most underrated fighter in the division.
“Beneil, yeah, good performance, great performance,” said Hooker. “I feel like Beneil’s that ugly girl at the dance. Now Beneil, I’m not calling you ugly mate, but I don’t mean that in an offensive way. I mean that as in I feel like he’s probably the most talented guy, skill for skill. I feel like he’s the most skilled guy in the division, I feel like he’s one of the most well rounded guys, but he doesn’t have the name recognition that some of the other guys in the top five have. Like, if you’re looking at the top five in the division, Beneil Dariush is probably the most unknown guy, but in my opinion the most underrated guy,” Hooker said.
Would you be excited for a Dan Hooker vs. Tony Ferguson or Beneil Dariush matchup in the lightweight division?
