Dan Hooker rips UFC over canceled tickets: ‘I’m not going to break my back for a company that doesn’t respect me’

WoozyFailGuy

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Dan Hooker has always answered the call for the UFC, but right now he’s keeping his best interests in mind.

With the UFC heading back to Perth on Sept. 28, New Zealand’s Hooker was ready to book a fight for that card even though he is still recovering from undergoing hand surgery this past March. He changed his mind the week of UFC 317 in June, when he was denied tickets to be in attendance at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to watch friend and teammate Kai Kara-France challenge flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja.

The incident left a sour taste in Hooker’s mouth.

“They tried to get me out of bed at 7:30 in the morning [eastern time]—the UFC booked me for some shit—which is three in the morning New Zealand time,” Hooker said on Submission Radio. “I didn’t even go out. I had an early night, but I’m not getting out of bed at three in the morning to do just about anything. I slept in, and I didn’t go to the UFC thing. They canceled my tickets to Kai’s fight and then so it’s like, I’m going to rush back and fight injured for a company that’s going to cancel my tickets to the event when I’ve traveled all the way to Las Vegas. I would have fought injured, but then someone at a desk has crossed my name off a list.

“You work in the office, brother, I work in the—you think there would be a bit more respect there for guys who literally give their life. The amount of blood, sweat, and tears I’ve poured into putting shows on for that company, I thought there would have been a bit more respect there. But there’s not, which is cool, business is business. We can fight on my terms then. ... I’m not going to break my back for a company that doesn’t respect me.”

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don't ask said:
I would love to give the UFC fighters a basic test to see what they know about the UFC.
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Dan is probably on the more knowledgeable side, surprisingly.

Even as Hooker aired his grievances with the promotion he’s called home since 2014, he also praised the UFC for its business acumen. Right now, it has a popular champion at the top lightweight division in Topuria, and a number of potential challengers lining up for his first defense of that title.

Hooker explained how this scenario is by design.

“The UFC is smart as f*ck,” Hooker said. “They never paint themselves into a situation where there’s a clear No. 1 contender that has to fight for the belt next, because if they’re ever in that situation, then negotiations obviously become very difficult for them. If the fans are 100 percent locked and expecting there’s only one guy that makes sense for the title, you think when they sit down and negotiate, the UFC’s in a strong position?

“Now they’ve got [Justin] Gaethje that they can have, they’ve got Arman that still they’ve said doesn’t but he does still make sense for the title. Paddy Pimblett could step up because he’s got f*cking beef coming out of his ears. So they always have in a title fight situation three guys that could justify title shots because then if they have one guy, they go to the first guy, he starts playing hard ball, then they can go to the second guy, they can go to the third guy, then they can go back to the first guy. At the end of the day it’s business and the fight that makes the most dollars makes the most sense for the UFC.”
 
Shocker. At the APEX, they let fighters bring some family and friends to watch their fights, however, they have to leave the APEX once their friend or family member fought. For example, Dan Hooker faces Mateusz Gamrot. They can both bring people to accompany them for their fight at the APEX, but they have to leave immediately after their fight is over.
 
STAY GOLD said:
Shocker. At the APEX, they let fighters bring some family and friends to watch their fights, however, they have to leave the APEX once their friend or family member fought. For example, Dan Hooker faces Mateusz Gamrot. They can both bring people to accompany them for their fight at the APEX, but they have to leave immediately after their fight is over.
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I still can't get over them kicking Johnny Walker out of the arena without shoes on while still wearing gloves lol
 
WoozyFailGuy said:
Dan is probably on the more knowledgeable side, surprisingly.

Even as Hooker aired his grievances with the promotion he’s called home since 2014, he also praised the UFC for its business acumen. Right now, it has a popular champion at the top lightweight division in Topuria, and a number of potential challengers lining up for his first defense of that title.

Hooker explained how this scenario is by design.

“The UFC is smart as f*ck,” Hooker said. “They never paint themselves into a situation where there’s a clear No. 1 contender that has to fight for the belt next, because if they’re ever in that situation, then negotiations obviously become very difficult for them. If the fans are 100 percent locked and expecting there’s only one guy that makes sense for the title, you think when they sit down and negotiate, the UFC’s in a strong position?

“Now they’ve got [Justin] Gaethje that they can have, they’ve got Arman that still they’ve said doesn’t but he does still make sense for the title. Paddy Pimblett could step up because he’s got f*cking beef coming out of his ears. So they always have in a title fight situation three guys that could justify title shots because then if they have one guy, they go to the first guy, he starts playing hard ball, then they can go to the second guy, they can go to the third guy, then they can go back to the first guy. At the end of the day it’s business and the fight that makes the most dollars makes the most sense for the UFC.”
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I dunno. Complaining about lack of respect while praising them for exploiting fighters...
 
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