Hooker on Parnasse: "I See What All the Fuss Is About"

Dan Hooker did not know much about Salahdine Parnasse before the UFC Paris main event was booked. That changed fast. "I see what all the fuss is about," Hooker (24-14) said at this week's media day.

Parnasse is a former KSW double champion, making his debut on a big stage with a lot of hype, and big things are expected of him. Hooker has faced good competition before, and he suggested the biggest factor in this fight may be timing, mainly his own.

"I just feel like right now, the timing for me, is right now I'm very motivated, I'm very locked in, and I'm in a very good place," Hooker said. He said that if he had prepared for Parnasse the way he did for the Benoit Saint-Denis fight, "he's beating me ten times out of ten." This time is different. "This is the best condition I've ever been in in my life."

A crossroads

Hooker called the fight a crossroads. The New Zealander has lost two straight, and a third in a row could drop him from the rankings.

He conceded that a Parnasse who met him in the past couple of years "could potentially get his hand raised," but said his condition, mindset and focus now are different. "It's not going to be his night," he said.

"It's a serious fight to get things back on track," Hooker said.

For Hooker the fight is about getting back on track. "I love doing this, I love to compete here in the UFC, I love to fight, and I want to fight against the best guys," he said. "You can't consistently lose fights, or they tell you to take off them gloves and wrap these things up."

He said he needs to answer a lot of questions and perform at the level everyone expects: "We right the ship, and we get things back on track."

Source: Cageside Press