UFC 243: New Zealand's Dan Hooker wary of high stakes against Al Iaquinta

Kiwi UFC lightweight Dan Hooker isn’t a huge fan of judges, as his long list of victims will attest.

'The Hangman' has put the ultimate full-stop on all eight of his wins inside the Octagon. At one stage, his four consecutive finishes had him holding one of the longest active streaks across the entire promotion.

Another one against Al Iaquinta at UFC 243 on Sunday on what is shaping to be one of the promotion's most high profile events ever would be a surefire recipe for stardom.

The hard-hitting New York native has a forged a reputation as one of the most durable fighters in the division. 

Alongside head-turning wins against the likes of Kevin Lee and Diego Sanchez, he's also one of two UFC fighters to both win a round and go the distance against Russian marauder Khabib Nurmagomedov, which makes his a highly valuable scalp.

"Hes been five rounds with Khabib," Hooker told Newshub. "He's been five rounds with Cowboy, and neither of them have been able to stop him.

"So If I'm able to stop him in just three rounds - when the champ couldn’t stop him - that sends a pretty strong message to the division that I'm one of the best."

Last week, UFC president Dana White told Newshub that a win for Hooker would see him move inside the top five of the lightweight rankings. He currently sits at 15, while Iaquinta is placed sixth.

The star-making power of this event is undeniable, and Hooker knows precisely the stakes.

"I'm very aware of the opportunity, but I don’t let myself daydream off and imagine the feelings of those things. But I imagine the practical steps.

"A big win on Sunday and I feel like I can drag the UFC back to NZ and put on another big show on at Spark Arena."

Hooker conducts his open workout at Melbourne's Federation Square on Thursday.
Hooker conducts his open workout at Melbourne's Federation Square on Thursday. Photo credit: Getty

The self-professed "angry old dad" of the City Kickboxing contingent is now New Zealand's longest tenured Kiwi UFC athlete, and he's been through his fair share of fight week build-ups. 

But since he touched down in the thick of, Hooker admits there's been a unique vibe about Melbourne, who soaked up the city's excitement at the obligatory open workout session at Federation Square on Thursday.

"Yeah, just look around," says Hooker, addressing the hundreds of bodies at the UFC media day. "Last time I fought here for UFC 193 they didn’t even have open workouts, I had to put my own on.

"So, to see yesterday with thousands of people turning up. This is mainstream, this is going to be on the mainstream news back home in New Zealand. The growth has been incredible."

"Fight week is the only time I off I really have at all. I get back to gym and back on the grind pretty much immediately after a fight. This is my holiday."

And if the Aucklander needed any further motivation, he need only look as far as Iaquinta's recent claim that he has an edge in "competitiveness" over him.

"That's a bit of a stretch," said a bemused Hooker. "You ask anyone I train with if I'm competitive and they'll give you a straight answer.

"If it comes down to a dog fight - he's going to have to kill me. That's the end of it."

"If it's me or him, hes gonna have to kill me to get the win. And if that's not competitive, I don't know what is."

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