Ahead of the biggest fight of his MMA career, Dan "the Hangman" Hooker speaks to Christopher Reive about taking the chance that started it all.
Dan Hooker realised early in his career that if he was ever going to make it to the highest level of the sport, he would have to make it happen.
All he needed was an opportunity, and when the UFC announced their first show in New Zealand in 2014, Hooker made sure the company at least knew his name.
Then a raw 24-year-old, Hooker showed up uninvited to a UFC media day in Auckland demanding to be on the card and asking how he could make it happen. It was a gamble he had no issue with taking.
"I decided a very long time ago that I'm all in for this sport, regardless of success or failure," Hooker told the Herald.
"The way I saw it playing out was very different, because at the time, there was no money in the sport — none. There was no one making a living. I quit my job when I got a contract with Legend FC paying me $1000 to fight. Before that, I was 3-3 as a professional, coming off a loss and struggling for motivation. I took a week or two away from the sport and went crazy, I missed it that much. It was then and there, regardless of success or failure, I decided this was what I wanted to do."
Soon after, he learned his upfront approach had worked and he would be making his UFC debut in his hometown in the featherweight division, fighting rising English prospect Ian Entwistle, who was also in his promotional debut.
The fight lasted just 96 seconds, and Hooker was on the board in the world's biggest mixed martial arts promotion with a TKO win.
Hooker went on to have six fights in the division, but with a 3-3 record, he made the decision to step up to lightweight in 2017.
By that point, he had already done more than he expected with the promotion.
"I thought I was pretty green coming in," he admits. "I thought it was a little too early, but I needed the opportunity. I was just a hungry young fighter, I wanted more and more and more — I wanted to fight, and fight anyone, anywhere. At the time, I thought, 'okay, I'll go in now, make a run, maybe win some, maybe lose some, get cut, go away to develop, come back as a more completed version, maybe have a second run, maybe get cut again, then come back'. I'm in it until the wheels fall off, and that's what separates me from a lot of guys."
It was again in Auckland where the rising Kiwi star arrived at a turning point in his career, making his first lightweight appearance in about four years against Ross Pearson, a veteran of more than 20 UFC appearances.
Again, Hooker delivered for his hometown crowd and claimed a second-round knockout with a well-timed knee.
It was a massive statement — particularly given he was fighting up a weight class — and signalled the beginning of his true UFC ascension.
His next three fights saw him make a name for himself as one of the deadliest fighters in the division, with stoppage wins in each fight.
A loss and two more impressive wins later, it is again in Auckland where the now 30-year-old reaches the biggest stage of his career — headlining Fight Night 168 against American Paul Felder.
The fight is a pivotal one in the landscape of the lightweight division. With Hooker and Felder ranked No 7 and 6 respectively, a title shot could lie in the not-too-distant future for the winner.
Looking back on his career, Hooker says it's incredible how far the sport has come in New Zealand since 2014.
When Hooker made his UFC debut, he was one of four Kiwis signed by the promotion — alongside Robert Whittaker, James Te Huna and Mark Hunt.
Now nine Kiwis are on the UFC's roster, with five fighting out of Auckland's City Kickboxing gym, and New Zealand boasts a UFC champion in undisputed middleweight king Israel Adesanya.
On today's card, Kiwis Kai Kara-France, Brad Riddell and Ben Sosoli will also be fighting.
But it's not just the continually improving level of talent in the country that has Hooker in awe, but the rising level of acceptance MMA has been gaining in the mainstream arena, highlighted by Adesanya being named Sportsman of the Year at this month's Halberg Awards.
"To be here now, making a good living, to be main event and see the attention and MMA now being a mainstream sport in New Zealand is mind-blowing," Hooker says.
"That's the funny thing about it. Now it's bigger, now it's main event; a sold-out arena and I'm headlining the card — I was way more nervous for my debut.
"It just shows I've grown, developed and matured in front of everyone inside the UFC."
Spark Arena, Auckland
10am, February 23
Lightweight: Dan Hooker (NZ) v Paul Felder (five-round main event)
Light heavyweight: Jimmy Crute (Aus) v Michal Oleksiejczuk
Strawweight: Karolina Kowalkiewicz v Yan Xiaonan
Heavyweight: Ben Sosoli (NZ) v Marcos Rogério de Lima
Lightweight: Brad Riddell (NZ) v Magomed Mustafaev
Featherweight: Kevin Aguilar v Zubaira Tukhugov
Lightweight: Joshua Culibao (Aus) v Jalin Turner
Welterweight: Jake Matthews (Aus) v Emil Meek
Welterweight: Callan Potter (Aus) v Kenan Song
Flyweight: Kai Kara-France (NZ) v Tyson Nam
Strawweight: Loma Lookboonmee v Angela Hill
Flyweight: Priscila Cachoeira v Shana Dobson
Catch the action from 10am today on nzherald.co.nz. Prime and ESPN pick up the broadcast from 11am.
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