Dan Hooker made no secret of his frustration with the UFC after being prevented from attending UFC 317 , held in June in Las Vegas. The New Zealander, who traveled to the United States to support his teammate Kai Kara-France , had his tickets canceled by the organization and harshly criticized the company's stance.
In an interview with the Submission Radio program, the sixth-ranked lightweight (up to 70,3 kg) revealed that the cancellation happened after he missed an appointment scheduled by the UFC on the morning of the event.
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"They tried to wake me up at 7:30 a.m. (East Coast time), which would be 3:30 a.m. in New Zealand. I hadn't even gone out the night before, but I'm not getting out of bed at that hour for anything. I slept in and missed the appointment. They canceled my tickets for Kai's fight," he reported.
Episode made Dan Hooker rethink the possibility of fighting while injured
The New Zealander, who is recovering from hand surgery, considered fighting injured on the Perth, Australia, card scheduled for September. However, he changed his mind after the incident.
"You work in the office, bro. I'm the guy who sheds blood, sweat, and tears inside the Octagon. I thought I'd get a little more respect from the company. But I didn't, and that's okay, business is business. I'm just not going to break my back for an organization that doesn't respect me," he said.
Hooker also made it clear that, despite wanting to fight at the event on his continent, he will not make a rushed return. His focus now is on performing at the traditional New York card in November. And his desired opponent has a name: Arman Tsarukyan . The New Zealander, however, imposed a condition to accept a five-round fight.
"Paying me $20 more for ten extra minutes? It doesn't make sense. If they pay me half a million for 15 minutes, they should pay me double for 30. I worked in a factory kitchen. No one works twice as hard for extra money. It's not about 'learning' or 'experience,' fuck that. If you want me to work twice as hard, pay me double," he said.
Despite the criticism, Hooker acknowledged the UFC's clever way of structuring the lightweight division. According to him, the organization avoids creating a single clear title challenger to maintain leverage in negotiations.
"They always have three options. If one guy asks for more, they go to the second. If the second stalls, they go back to the first. In the end, the one that makes the most money is the one that makes the most sense for them," he concluded.
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