Dan Hooker claims Charles Oliveira fight is 'locked in' following backstage chat with Hunter Campbell at UFC 305
19/08/2024 15:46
Whilst it wouldn't be the first time that Dan Hooker has prematurely announced a fight with Oliveira, albeit that last fake callout worked out decidedly well for 'The Hangman', it sounds like the Kiwi secured his next bout after a hilarious chat with Hunter Campbell.
Following his split decision win over Mateusz Gamrot in Perth, lightweight veteran Dan Hooker was able to have a short discussion with UFC matchmaker extraordinaire Hunter Campbell – with the New Zealander revealing the result of that chat on the latest episode of Pub Talk.
Dan Hooker reveals backstage chat with UFC ends in Charles Oliveira
If you find yourself with a spare 20 minutes at some point this week, you should watch the highly entertaining new episode of The Mac Life's Pub Talk series with Oscar Willis and fan favorite Dan Hooker.
At one point in the conversation, Willis revealed that after a few post-305 celebratory drinks, they ended up running into UFC CBO Hunter Campbell in the fighter hotel lobby, with the New Zealander quick to start trying to secure his next opponent.
"He goes 'Who do you want to fight next?' and I go 'I'll smash any of the dogs, give me every last one of the dogs!'" laughed Hooker, noting how "My manager Ash was there as well and he's just like 'How about I do the matchmaking brother?’"
Well, according to both Willis and Hooker, the UFC matchmaker was seemingly convinced to set up former champion Charles Oliveira next for 'The Hangman' – although the Kiwi also stated that he'd tried to convince Campbell to give him Arman Tsarukyan as well.
"Yeah, they want Charles, it's a good fight but I mean there's heaps of cool s*** I could do, the lay of the land is pretty crazy and it's such a wild sport so we'll see how it plays out.
"I couldn't care less, [I want to fight] all of them bro – even Arman bro. I said to Hunter that I'd like to fight Arman because screw it, we'll go the toughest route to the title that I possibly can; Turner, Gamrot, Arman, Islam – I just don't care brother."
Following the seemingly intoxicated, yet hilariously on-point chat with Hunter Campbell, Hooker's manager reportedly told both men that the Oliveira fight had been 'locked in' behind the scenes.
"Dan's manager comes up to us and goes 'Dan, it's Charles – it's locked in' and you just went 'Arman'… 'No no no it's Charles' – 'Arman'; and he went 'Well Arman's fighting for the title' and you just went 'Arman interim title?'
"This is how you negotiate with Dan," laughed the iconic MMA reporter, as Hooker himself justified his desire to face Arman Tsarukyan; albeit with one or two choice words for the 22-3 Armenian.
"I said I hate the prick; I told Hunter that I'm going to smash his face in and that I hate the dog… He's just a prick, he's been talking s*** for years bro.
"It's like the duality of fighting where there's no one I hate more in the world than these other guys in the division but there's no one else I respect more in the world than these other guys in there."
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Dan Hooker accidentally reveals the UFC is returning to Sydney in 2025
Ironically, 'locking in' his next fight against Charles Oliveira wasn't the only surprise announcement from the episode, with both Hooker and Willis revealing the UFC will return down under in Q1 of 2025.
"I'd like to get one more in this year," stated Hooker, before catching himself just before revealing the UFC's upcoming schedule: "We've got another baby due in February so that's cutting it fine because there's another card in… Ugh."
"There's a card in Sydney in February," claimed Willis.
"Yeah, but it's a couple of days before my wife is due so it's like cutting it fine," noted 'The Hangman' as he plotted out his path back to Islam Makhachev.
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"If we can knock another one out this year that would be incredible and then fight for the title next year I guess."
With the victory over Gamrot at UFC 305, Dan Hooker moves to 24-12 as a professional and extends his winning streak to three.
