[autotag]Dan Hooker[/autotag] sees right through [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag]’s poke at him on social media.
Hooker (20-8 MMA, 10-4 UFC) faces [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] in the main event of UFC on ESPN 12 this Saturday in a pivotal clash that interim lightweight champ Gaethje appears to be following with interest.
Gaethje (22-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) predicted that Poirier will “merk” Hooker, making it clear who he’s backing to win Saturday night.
Hooker thinks Gaethje is picking Poirier to win for a simple reason. Poirier is the last man to beat Gaethje, having stopped him in the fourth round of their 2018 battle, so it’s in his best interest if “The Diamond” wins.
“I think he just wants Dustin to succeed,” Hooker explained to MMA Junkie. “Dustin knocked him out, so if someone knocks you out, you obviously want to see him do well and he would love for him to knock me out so makes him look a little bit better. If Dustin flatlined him and I flatline Dustin, it kinda makes Gaethje look a bit beatable to me. So yeah, I can definitely see why he’s throwing his hat towards Dustin.”
Hooker is coming off a five-round war with Paul Felder in February which may have been the exact kind of preparation he needed for the battle-tested Poirier, who’s also been in his fair share of grueling fights.
Nonetheless, Hooker is confident that he’ll put him away.
“Yeah, I gained the necessary experience from that fight, going the full five rounds,” Hooker said. “The fight playing out the way it played out, like a back-and-forth contest, yeah I definitely gained a lot of experience from going the full five rounds.
“It’ll be hard, Dustin is a pretty durable guy. We’ll see if he can take the shots. He is pretty confident he can take the shots, everyone thinks he can take the shots and he’s gonna beat me up so we’ll see. I’m pretty confident I can put him away. The way I’m approaching it and the way I’m looking at it, from what I’ve seen, I’m pretty confident that I can finish him.”