The fight gods strike again! The highly anticipated UFC 313 co-main event between Justin Gaethje and Dan Hooker is officially off. Despite Hooker’s bold claim that he’d leave the cage on a stretcher, it seems he’s already there—pulling out of the bout before the violence could even begin. Fans are left wondering what could have been the reason for the withdrawal as Gaethje, now waits for his next victim.

Australian MMA influence, Bendaman broke the news as he emphasized that as of now it is unknown whether Justin Gaethje will get another replacement fighter, “Unknown if Justin Gaethje will get a replacement or if they will rebook it for a later card.” The news was later shared by another influencer, Kevin, who believes that Hooker might have injured himself as he is in a cast right now.

Dan Hooker’s injury woes strike again—this time, it’s his hand forcing him out of his scheduled clash. Interestingly, ‘The Hangman’ had his sights set on a future showdown with Justin Gaethje, but the UFC had other ideas, steering him in a different direction. While having a conversation with Submission Radio, Hooker ascertained that he wanted to fight alongside Alexander Volkanovski but the UFC forced him to fight beforehand, “We wanted to be on the same card. We wanted Volk main event and then I was gonna be the co-main. But I think the UFC had other plans,” said Hooker.

He further added, “They’re trying to give me every disadvantage they can possibly give me. But that’s fine… [Gaethje] wanted to switch it to three [rounds], they switched it to three. But that’s why I want to fight Justin Gaethje. I want the perks that come with being one of the stars of the division.” 

Dan Hooker expressed his desire to fight on the Volkanovski card, and it seems his wish might be granted, given the high anticipation surrounding a potential showdown with Justin Gaethje. If the UFC cancels the fight, UFC 314 could serve as the perfect stage for their clash. Well, now that Hooker has pulled away from the fight, what if the fight would have happened? Dan Hooker had promised that he would not go easy on Justin Gaethje.

Dan Hooker was looking to go all out against Justin Gaethje

Justin Gaethje was defeated by Max Holloway at UFC 300, and that clash nearly shattered his dream of capturing the UFC lightweight title. Many within the MMA community criticized Gaethje for being a bit reckless against the former featherweight champion. Notably, his loss to Holloway marked the first time the ‘Highlight’ was knocked out cold. Did the UFC 300 fight exposed the faultlines of Gaethje? Well according to Hooker, it did not.

While having a conversation with Michael Bisping, Hooker revealed, “It was a very competitive fight, I think Justin was even getting the better of it until a spinning back kick lands on his nose… You know what it’s like when you get your nose shattered in the first round, you can’t breathe, you can’t see… I don’t take too much from that fight, even stylistically.”

He further added, “What most people take away from that fight is that Max outclassed Gaethje. I don’t think it’s that… It was just a bit of a banana-peel fight.” Justin Gaethje has been a force within the division, and a single loss doesn’t mean he’s finished. However, will his fight against Holloway be exploited by his future opponents? Share your thoughts in the comments below.