“Kick his head clean off his shoulders” Dan Hooker Reveals UFC Qatar Gameplan for Arman Tsarukyan
Dan Hooker has a fairly straightforward blueprint heading into his Arman Tsarukyan bout at UFC Qatar. This massive matchup at lightweight headlines the UFC Fight Night offering set to take place on November 22nd. Speaking with Nolan King of MMA Junkie, Hooker delved into multiple topics related to this fight, with the obvious question coming up centered on what his approach for Tsarukyan would be.
As he was endearingly frank about his overview of this potential lightweight title eliminator bout, Hooker said,
“I think I kick his head clean off his shoulders. I think that’s how it gets done. I think a lot of people are going to be shocked come Saturday and I can’t wait. I can’t wait for it.”
“I think there’s no real secret there. He’s grabbing a hold of me and holding me on the deck, brother. I think there’s no real secret about where our strengths lie at this. I feel like if we’re standing at long range or even in that mid-range of striking, I think I’d tear him apart. He’ll be looking to close the distance and not engage with me on the feet and just be looking to get some control time in and kind of drain the clock down. That’s what he’ll be eyeing.”
Dan Hooker not enthused about paddy pimblett or justin gaethje title shot talks
Dan Hooker is in the mix at lightweight in a big way and recently threw cold water on the cases of two other major players in the race for a title shot at 155 pounds. Many foresee Pimblett being in the running, considering the lengthy narrative that has happened with reigning lightweight champion Ilia Topuria during their feuding over the years.
At the UFC Qatar media day, Hooker railed against Pimblett moving up in the rankings even more than his initial advancement in the hierarchy when Pimblett bested Michael Chandler in April. Hooker also took aim at Gaethje’s methodology of saying he will retire from MMA if he doesn’t get another crack at UFC lightweight gold in his next outing. Dan Hooker favored his own approach here, which is to emphatically beat the top guy in your given weight category to definitively earn your shot, which he will have the chance to do on Saturday.
