Dan Hooker wanted to fight at UFC 313, despite having a broken hand.
On Tuesday, news broke that Hooker is out of his scheduled five-round co-main event fight against Justin Gaethje at UFC 313 next Saturday. The No. 6-ranked lightweight revealed the information on his daughter’s YouTube channel, noting he “broke his paw.” A little later, “The Hangman” clarified exactly what happened when speaking with Sky Sports New Zealand.
“One of the paws is not doing too well,” Hooker said while showing the difference in his hands. “I was sparring last night, as I do, just letting some hooks go, just throwing some bombs down range, and I just caught one of the boys on the top of the dome with my knuckle. I don’t think too much of it but they sent me off to get a CT scan. Had a little CT scan and they told me my hand is fractured.”
As things stand right now, Hooker isn’t sure what happens next. The fight with Gaethje was one of the most anticipated of the year and could have determined the next lightweight title challenger, but “The Hangman” says he’s doesn’t know if the promotion will wait and rebook it or find a replacement in less than two weeks’ notice.
“So yeah, I obviously still would fight,” Hooker said. “[Laughs] But with the medicals they squeeze your hands and [makes face and screams]. So we’ll see how it all plays out. … We’ll see if we can kick this fight down the road or we’ll just wait and see.
“It’s unfortunate that it was this close. Obviously, gutted for all the fans that I know that were excited for this fight. That’s probably the main thing, I think. The Lords of War were not happy, and they took it away from you.”
If the promotion does choose to replace Hooker, there are no shortage of fighters willing to step up. Rafael Fiziev, Mateusz Gamrot, and Renato Moicano were all quick to throw their name in the hat to fight Gaethje at UFC 313.
