Dan Hooker | Back On The Grind

Dan Hooker poses for a portrait in Paris, France on September 1, 2026. (Photo by Savannah Alarcon/Zuffa LLC)

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By E. Spencer Kyte • Sep. 2, 2026

Dan Hooker has been around long enough and is sharp enough to know the MMA audience is fickle, and that their allegiances and opinions about athletes’ ebb and flow aren't worth getting caught up in.

“The mob is fickle, and the mob is not on my side right now,” Hooker said. “It’s just the sport; it’s the funniest. You lose, and it’s ‘Wrap it up; you’re done. Put a fork in him!’ and you win, you get back in the mix, and everyone says, ‘I always believed in Dan Hooker!’”

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The 36-year-old cackled, having navigated these ups and downs plenty of times before and remaining unbothered by the thoughts of the masses. What does resonate with him a little more, however, is when the comments and perspectives usually reserved for social media start to creep into his everyday life.

“Everyone gets mad flagrant when you get a couple of losses,” Hooker said. “The missus will shoulder charge past you in the kitchen. They see you take a couple Ls to the best fighters in the world and people get real bold; they get real f****** brave! I was chatting with my mum and said I was feeling really good and she was like, ‘(raspberry sound) You said that last time, mate.’”

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Saturday night at Accor Arena marks the fourth time in his career that Hooker has stepped into the cage on a two-fight skid, and each time, he has earned a victory. Asked if he’s superstitious about these things at all, the light-hearted divisional mainstay laughed and chalked it up to something far more straightforward.

“I just get woken up! I’m just a real practical guy where it’s like ‘Enough is enough,’” he offered. “You forget what being a loser is like — everyone giving you s*** and life being so much more difficult, doors closing, and I’m like, ‘Naw naw naw naw naw!’ Everything sucks when you lose, so I’m like, ‘I’ve had enough of it! It’s time to turn it around!’”

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While everyone will be quick to echo his mum’s sentiments upon hearing that, the brutally honest City Kickboxing man opened up about the realities of his preparation for this fight and how dramatically they differed from what he’s been doing for the past several years.

“I jumped on the program at City Kickboxing with the strength and conditioning coach Bill Smart, and I’ve been lifting weights and running hills and running track; just grinding, really,” began Hooker. “When I came into this fight camp, I was able to come in fit. It’s been good. There are a lot of hungry, young guys we’re working with at the gym, and that’s kind of been the — I’ve been drawing life outta them. When you get to the gym, and they’re all fighting for their life to get to where you are, and I’ve been taking it for granted, it’s a bit of a kick in the face to them, so I’ve been working hard in the gym.

“We’ve got Rongzhu who fights a week after me. Tom Nolan and Dom (Mar Fan) have moved over as well, so that’s another ranked lightweight; there are the Mayocchi Brothers. We’ve got a bunch of guys that are on the verge of getting UFC contracts, and I’ve just been grinding out in the gym with them.”

Dan Hooker of New Zealand punches Mateusz Gamrot of Poland in a lightweight fight during the UFC 305 event at RAC Arena on August 18, 2024 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Asked the last time he’d put in this kind of effort, committed himself to doing the work outside of camp in this manner, Hooker quickly offered a jarring answer.

“Probably Felder,” he said, citing his February 2020 bout with Paul Felder in New Zealand. “That was the last time, and then the big shenanigans with COVID and then four surgeries back-to-back-to-back sucked the enjoyment out of it. I’ve really enjoyed being in the gym, which is something I haven’t done in a really long time — just being around my teammates, being around the young guys, being around my coaches.

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“The last couple of fights, I felt like I wasted everyone’s time, you know what I mean?” continued Hooker. “My coaches are taking time away from their families and stuff like that — and it’s funny: no one can really tell because they come out and go, ‘Dan, how you doing?’ and I’m like, ‘I feel really fit, feel great, feel really locked in’ and they’re like, ‘Yeah, well you said that last time.’

“But that’s what it was: I was skipping the grind, and the grind is something that no one sees. The grind is something that — I guarantee if you ask any of my teammates, ask any of my coaches, and they’re the only ones that can really tell you there has been a noticeable difference in this fight.”

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Where the people who have shared the mats with him over the last seven months since his loss to Benoît Saint Denis are the only ones that can attest to what he has done in the room and how different it is, keen outside observers will notice another shift that has occurred in the preamble to his showdown with Salahdine Parnasse on Saturday.

Before his bouts with Arman Tsarukyan and Saint Denis, the playful chatterbox has plenty to say about his opponents and how he believed things would transpire once they stepped into the Octagon together. This time around, however, Hooker has said very little.

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“You mask the lack of preparation with overconfidence, and that’s the position I put myself in, which is why it’s funny this time,” began Hooker. “People are expecting the same s*** where I’m going, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna kick his head off’ and all this crazy s***, but I don’t feel I need to say that kind of stuff in this fight. I don’t feel like I have to mask a lack of solid preparation with overconfidence. He’s a good fighter; he’s a hungry, young kid and I’m excited for the match. I’m prepared, so I don’t have to (say anything).

“Overconfident and under-prepared — that’s The Art of War, man; it’s the oldest trick in the book,” he added. “It’s ‘act strong when you are weak and act weak when you are strong’ and that’s me in the past: acting strong when I was s*** and unfit, and now that I’m prepared for a five-round grind match, you don’t want to let anyone know. You kinda wanna fly under the radar and hope that he anticipates the Dan Hooker that showed up the last couple fights.”

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But that isn’t the guy that is set to turn up on Saturday night.

“I do some of my best performances when I do have a chip on my shoulder, and I am upset,” continued Hooker. “I have got some of my biggest wins after devastating losses other fighters might not have come back from. I knocked out James Vick, and that was the fight after Edson Barboza beat me black-and-blue. Last time was a real wake-up call and it lit a fire under my a** and now I’m ready to shine.”

For as jocular and lighthearted as Hooker can be, he’s never been one to not appreciate the magnitude of the situations he’s in, and this weekend’s headlining turn is no different.

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“It’s a big spot,” he said. “I know he’s a new kid coming in and stuff, but he’s obviously got a lot of hype in Europe, and I’m excited it’s the main event. I’m excited that you’re still respected as that kinda draw. I don’t know what the numbers are behind the scenes, but it must be a lot because I either get put on the pay-per-view or chucked in a main event spot.”

And he’s excited for the opportunity to ruin the night of 15,000-plus partisan fans set to pack Accor Arena this weekend.

“I’d love to shut them all up,” he said with a devilish smile. “I’m a bad person because that puts a warm, fuzzy feeling in my stomach.

“I’ve been there before in hometown fights: you win, and the crowd goes dead quiet, and you ruin everyone’s night. You’ve taken their money for me to give them a horrible time, and I just can’t wait for it.”

UFC Fight Night: Hooker vs Parnasse took place live from Accor Arena in Paris, France on September 5, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!