Dan Hooker knows what it's like to be counted out, but it's a little different this time. Hooker enters Saturday's UFC Fight Night main event -- a spot he's very familiar with -- but it's promotional newcomer Salahdine Parnasse getting most of the attention in Paris. Hooker hasn't given people reason to believe in him lately.
Consecutive stoppage losses to Arman Tsarukyan and Benoit Saint Denis halted a career resurgence and sent him tumbling back down the lightweight pecking order. His preparation admittedly wasn't where it needed to be in those performances. "Success has its own faults as well," Hooker told CBS Sports.
"It was a combination of many things. I had four surgeries back-to-back, and then I wasn't able to train. I wasn't able to be in the gym.
And so I got distracted with a lot of other things. "I run my own fight show and have a few businesses. You're getting dragged for meetings, traveling, this and that.
Success has its downfalls. I was getting pulled in a million different directions." FC numbered event and UFC Fight Night is included with your subscription! Plans start as low as $8.99/month or $89.99/year!
Outside ventures took priority as Hooker recovered from numerous surgeries. His 1 Minute Scraps and King of the Street backyard fight series took off online and in New Zealand. Once Hooker was healthy enough to fight again, however, he hadn't properly shifted his attention back to his Octagon career.
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