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Dan Hooker has one clear mission this weekend: Make things fun.
On Saturday, Hooker faces Mateusz Gamrot in the featured main card fight of UFC 305. It’s a big opportunity for Hooker, who is on a two-fighting winning streak, to jump into the lightweight top five, and one that “The Hangman” couldn’t be happier with.
“I love it, brother,” Hooker said of the matchup. “I love that sexy little number he’s got next to his name. That’s what I’m coming for.”
“They’ll have to [fight me if I win]. That completely changes the direction. A lot of the big names in the division are all coming off losses, [Charles] Oliveira, [Dustin] Poirier, [Justin] Gaethje, [Michael] Chandler — all of these guys are going to want something I have, which is going to be a three-fight win streak.”
Of course, beating Gamrot is easier said than done. The former KSW two-division champion is widely regarded as one of the best lightweights in the world, with a 7-2 record in the UFC. That being said, if there is a criticism of Gamrot, it’s his penchant for decisions as “Gamer” has gone to the scorecards in four of his past five fights. That hasn’t always been the case for Gamrot though, who won four performance bonuses in his first five UFC fights.
Hooker says he’s been charged with bringing that sort of fight back out of his opponent.
“God no, I’m going to make it exciting,” Hooker said when asked if Gamrot will try to be more exciting this weekend. “That’s why they put this fight together. They were like, ‘Who can drag it out of him?’ I will press that action.”
Gamrot is currently ranked No. 5 in the UFC lightweight rankings, so if Hooker pulls off the upset, it will be the biggest win of his career thus far. And while a win could set up a matchup with some of the other big names in the division that Hooker previously mentioned, if he’s impressive enough, Hooker also believes this could be the one that earns him a title shot.
“Who else is there?” Hooker said. “The only other guys — you ain’t getting a title shot off a loss. If you want to be next in line, you’re going to have to [win]. What now, Arman is next in line? Who is after that? The title fight is booked, who is after that? The winner of this weekend is the next guy.”
UFC 305 takes place this Saturday at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
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