Dan Hooker is looking for a fight at the moment. The Kiwi suffered a disappointing loss to Michael Chandler at UFC 257 as he got knocked out in the first round of the fight. Many people believe a fight between him and Tony Ferguson next makes the most sense, stylistically, under current circumstances.

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Ferguson is currently on a 3-fight skid. He lost a decision to Beneil Dariush at UFC 262. One might argue that ‘El Cucuy’ is just not the same fighter anymore since his UFC 249 loss to Justin Gaethje. His body has started taking a toll on him. Ferguson is too tough for his own good and maybe he should take some recovery time before jumping back in action. Hooker recognizes that fact too.

“People saying Tony might be injured. So, I don’t want to call Tony out and I don’t wanna fight Tony if he’s not at 100 percent. I don’t want it to be any kind of doubt. I don’t wanna call someone out that’s injured,” said Hooker to Submission Radio.

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That’s why I don’t wanna call out RDA unless he says he’s good to go. Tony Ferguson’s the same. I don’t wanna fight Tony Ferguson that’s not 100 percent. So, if he comes out and he says he is at 100 percent, well then I’m gonna be knocking on his door, knocking on his door pretty loud. But until he says that, we’ll wait for him,” added ‘The Hangman’.

May 15, 2021; Houston, Texas, USA; Beneil Dariush lands a hit against Tony Ferguson during UFC 262 at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

How Ferguson responds to Hooker’s claims remains to be seen. But the Kiwi might just be right about ‘El Cucuy’ needing to take some time off before returning to the Octagon.

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Dan Hooker vs Tony Ferguson: fireworks guaranteed?

Many believe ‘El Cucuy’ is done competing with the elites. It’s hard to claim an argument for Ferguson too, especially after his third loss in a row. He has been a legend in the UFC. But time seems to have caught up to him, unfortunately.

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LAS VEGAS, NV – OCTOBER 06: Tony Ferguson smiles during his fight against Anthony Pettis at UFC 229 at the T-Mobile Arena on Saturday, October 6, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Hans Gutknecht/Digital First Media/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)

That said, it only takes one good fight for someone of Ferguson’s caliber to reinvent himself. And a fight against Hooker can give T-Ferg the perfect opportunity to do that. But whether that fight actually materializes remains to be seen.

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Apratim Banerjee

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Apratim Banerjee is a senior UFC author for EssentiallySports and has been writing professionally for almost a year. Before his current gig, Apratim worked as a UFC writer for Sportskeeda. A long-time MMA fan, Apratim has developed a critical eye for the sport that has helped him transfer his vast knowledge to his copies and give hardcore and casual readers a detailed insight into the fights and fighters. Dan Henderson’s brutal knockout against Michael Bisping at UFC 100 in 2009 is one of his earliest memories of the sport. He has never missed a UFC PPV or a Fight Night since, which speaks volumes about his wealth of MMA knowledge. Israel Adesanya, Jon Jones, Stipe Miocic, Conor McGregor are some of his favorite fighters. Apart from this, Apratim plays soccer in his free time and loves scoring long-distance goals.

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