Dan Hooker Reveals His Plan to Defeat Ilia Topuria: “Father Time”
Dan Hooker already has a plan to beat Ilia Topuria.
Stepping into the co-main event spotlight this Saturday in The Land Down Under, ‘Hangman’ will go toe-to-toe with Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 325.
Already sitting as the lightweight division’s fifth-ranked contender, a win over the ‘God of War’ could put Hooker in line for a shot at reigning titleholder Ilia Topuria — once he handles some business with newly minted interim champion Justin Gaethje first.
During a recent interview with Submission Radio, Hooker laid out his very simple path to defeating Topuria.
Someone asked me in an interview the other day, and they were like, ‘How do you beat Ilia Topuria right now?’ And I just said, ‘Father time.’ I said, ‘You give it enough time. You roll the dice for long enough, and that’s it. No one’s the best forever. It’s extremely momentary.’
“But while these two guys are streaking and they’re in their physical prime and the momentum’s there, like that’s the fight that we want to see.”
Dan Hooker looks to get back into the win column against Saint-Denis
But before Hooker can even consider a fight with Topuria, he’ll have to get through the always-dangerous Saint-Denis.
In his last outing, Hooker came up short against the division’s top-ranked contender, Arman Tsarukyan, in November. Before that, ‘Hangman’ was riding a three-fight win streak.
Meanwhile, Saint-Denis walks into UFC 325 having finished his last three opponents, including an insane 16-second knockout of Beneil Dariush late last year.
