UFC: Dan Hooker calls out lightweight division after fourth straight dominant win

Dan Hooker has now won four bouts in a row in the UFC. Photo / Getty Images

The UFC's lightweight division is the deepest the promotion has to offer, but Kiwi Dan Hooker says it's full of people who don't want to fight.

The 28-year-old won his fourth straight bout in the octagon when he beat Brazilian Gilbert Burns at UFC 226 in Las Vegas on Sunday.

The fight, Hooker's 10th in the UFC, lasted just two minutes and 29 seconds before the referee stopped it - the Kiwi making a big statement with the win.

It will see him become a ranked fighter for the first time in his UFC career, and in his post-fight interview, he had some strong words for the division.

"To me, my division is filled with guys who don't want to fight," he said. "It's time to get these guys who don't want to fight out of here."

Among the lightweight division's top 10 fighters alone, two haven't stepped inside the octagon since 2016.

Former champion and now No1 ranked Conor McGregor's last UFC bout was in November 2016. Nate Diaz, ranked No8, hasn't fought since August 2016.

"I'll fight anyone, anytime," Hooker said. "Go get me someone else and I'll come back out again tonight and fight. This is what I do. I believe I am a top 10 fighter and I'm here to prove it."

Hooker was now won seven of 10 fights in the UFC - all seven have been stoppages. Burns, a four-time Jiu Jitsu world champion, came into the fight on the back of two stoppages of his own. The bout shaped up as the toughest of Hooker's career, yet he made light work of it.

"Give me someone in the top 10; Put some respect on my name.

"That's four in a row now, you're getting these boys hurt. You need to give me someone on my level.

"I smell blood in the top 10. I smell blood in the division, and I'm coming for them."