After a fight with Michael Chandler at UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi, Aussie and Kiwi fans slammed for Dan Hooker.
Not only had he just been knocked out in the first round, but after the blow he sparked rumors of an early retirement by taking off his MMA gloves and leaving them in the eight- foot – usually a good sign that a fighter is walking away from the sport well.
But now that the dust has settled, their favorite Hooker has come out and cleaned things up a bit.
And thankfully, he doesn’t call time on his career after all.
“You’re always sad after a loss,” he told Submission Radio.
“[It was] balance of all things. Just frustration, you’re embarrassed, and in that moment I was like, ‘I’m done. I’m done with this s – y fun. I’m done. ‘Then you get back to the hotel and you think about it and realize that you’re not good at anything other than that, so it’s so good,‘ I’ve painted myself into a corner here. ‘
“People think you’re going to go around in depression and not get out of bed, but I know what it is. This is fun. I’ve been doing and following all my adult life.It’s always possible.Call like this, you don’t go around in depression, really upset. It’s self-explanatory. Yes. I can honestly say I’m no more upset than when I lost a Poirier fight. “
9 days agoDespite emerging as one of the lightweight sector’s top contenders, the 30-year-old Hooker has not been treated well outside of the octagon.
As a result of New Zealand ‘s strict coronavirus regulations, it was revealed in the run – up to UFC 257 that he would not be lying down in his hometown of Auckland until March.
Overall, his long quarantine in several foreign countries means he will take about six weeks to finally get home to his family.
This, coupled with the devastating case, has seen Hooker relatively quiet in the days following the incident.
“To be honest, I had nothing to say,” he continued.
“How a week has passed and what can you say? What can you say? You have good days and bad days. You go into those things and prepare yourself for the situations. worst, but even that gave the cake.Even then I was amazed at how bad it went (at night) .That was the thing that was a surprise.So I was like, what can you say? I didn’t have words to describe it. You come to it and then you are just like, I just spent four months of my life for that. “