While Dan
Hooker would have liked to fight on the same card as his
City Kickboxing teammates, he won’t mind sitting cageside for
their return.
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Alexander
Volkanovski is expected to challenge Ilia
Topuria in a featherweight title rematch at UFC
314 on April 12 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. Hooker
believes their teammate, Kai
Kara-France, is also likely to be on the same card. The
Topuria-Volkanovski rematch has not been confirmed by the
promotion.
Meanwhile, “The Hangman” will take on Justin
Gaethje in fan favorite matchup at UFC 313
on March 8 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. While the Kiwi would
have liked to fight on the same card as his teammates, he doesn’t
mind getting done with his assignment earlier.
“I’m pretty sure Alex and Kai will be on the same card,” Hooker
told ESPN Australia. “I would’ve liked for all the
three of us to be fighting in April together, but I got chucked on
a little earlier. But hey, it’s not the end of the world. I’ll get
to enjoy my fight in March, then hopefully be sitting cageside with
a bit of mojito and enjoy the fights there with the boys.”
Volkanovski has dropped three of his last four, including two
failed lightweight title bids against Islam
Makhachev. “The Great” hasn’t fought since losing his strap to
Topuria via knockout at UFC 298 last year. Meanwhile, Kara-France
ended a two-fight skid with an stoppage win over Steve Erceg
at UFC 305 last year.
Meanwhile, Hooker has seemingly found the proverbial second wind in
his career with a three-fight winning streak. Known for engaging in
brutal slugfests, Hooker has found his match in Gaethje, who looks
to rebound from a BMF title loss against Max
Holloway. As for how Hooker expects the fight to play out, the
35-year-old is already prepared to leave on a stretcher.
”No matter [if] his arm gets raised, [or] my arm gets raised and
then I’m going straight on the stretcher, straight on to the back
of an ambulance and I’m going to the hospital,” Hooker said. “So
I’ve come to terms that that’s how this night’s gonna end… I’ve
embraced it. So if someone’s not ready to go to the length that I’m
willing to go to, then they’re gonna have a hard night.”