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Monday, Apr 13, 2020

Dan Hooker’s Not Upset Dustin Poirier Offered to Step in at UFC 249

Dan Hooker (photo via YouTube)

By FCF Staff

Dustin Poirier offered to step-up at UFC 249 when the card’s original headliner fell apart, and the man who was booked to fight him on May 16th, Dan Hooker, understands why.

Khabib Nurmagomedov was originally supposed to fight Tony Ferguson on April 18th, but due to a coronavirus travel ban, he was forced off UFC 249. When that happened, Poirier (25-6) offered to step-up face and face Ferguson, even though he was scheduled to fight Hooker.

More recently Hooker (20-8) spoke with MMA Junkie, and while discussing Poirier’s offer, he said this.

“It’s a business,” Hooker said. “This whole game is risk/reward. Would I have entertained the idea of a lower-ranked fighter at this time under those circumstances? Definitely not. So, for Dustin to throw his name in the hat for a fight that would have potentially got him even more back on track than a fight against me, you know, I have no problem with that. If he turned down me to fight Gaethje or Ferguson or McGregor, I can’t get upset about that because I would do the exact same thing to him.”

Currently all UFC cards are on hold as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. UFC President Dana White has claimed, however, that the promotion could start holding events soon.

Hooker is coming off a split decision win over Paul Felder in February and has won three in a row.

posted by FCF Staff @ 7:01 am
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