Dan Hooker is tearing into Arman Tsarukyan for pulling out of the most significant fight of his career to date.
Tsarukyan was set to face reigning lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in the headliner of UFC 311 last Saturday at the Intuit Dome in California. Unfortunately, the highly anticipated rematch faced a devastating setback when “Ahalkalakets” withdrew just hours before the official weigh-ins due to a back injury.
Makhachev dominated Renato Moicano, who stepped in as Tsarukyan’s late replacement, securing a first-round submission to notch his fourth consecutive title defense in dominant fashion.
As if the injury wasn’t enough for the 28-year-old Armenian, things took an unexpected turn at the UFC 311 post-fight press conference. UFC CEO Dana White revealed that Tsarukyan won’t be given an immediate title shot. Instead, he’ll need to secure one or two more victories before earning being considered for another crack at the belt.
During a recent interview with Submission Radio, Hooker weighed in on Tsarukyan’s withdrawal from his first UFC title shot, expressing shock over the timing of the injury that led to the unexpected setback.
“How do you get injured on your day off?” Hooker said. “I got no idea… I thought it was pretty, pretty strange, bro, to get such a severe injury that you need to pull out when you’re cutting weight, you know?”
“The Hangman” didn’t hold back, taking sharp jabs at Tsarukyan for missing out on an immediate title shot, while mocking his apparently privileged background and his father Nairi Tsarukyan’s wealth.
“It must be a pretty severe injury. But, like, your world title is your absolutely everything. I don’t know how you would pass up on that opportunity. Yeah, like, I obviously saw Dana White just say that he ain’t getting the title shot next and he’s going to have to work his way back up to the belt, you know. Daddy can’t buy you a backbone, can he?”
Hooker is placing himself in the mix for a lightweight title shot as he’s set to clash with former interim champion Justin Gaethje in a five-round battle. The high-stakes bout will take place as the co-main event of UFC 311 on March 8 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
