Dan Hooker says he "took a risk" by trying to fight so soon at UFC on ESPN 52, and the decision backfired on him.
Dan Hooker broke the same arm he injured in his past fight.
Hooker (23-12 MMA, 13-8 UFC) was forced to withdraw from his lightweight co-headliner against Bobby Green (31-14-1 MMA, 12-9-1 UFC) scheduled for Dec. 2 at UFC on ESPN 52 after breaking his arm.
“(In) sparring yesterday, copped a bit of a kick,” Hooker told Submission Radio. “Got sent to an X-ray. She’s custard … Yeah, it just broke in the same place, and it kind of is what it is.”
Hooker broke his right arm in the first round of his barnburner against Jalin Turner at UFC 290 in July, which required surgery. The City Kickboxing fighter admits he should have taken more time off before returning.
“I took a risk,” Hooker said. “I obviously came back a little quicker than … Yeah, like, it’s all on me. I rushed to come back. I wanted to fight. I knew the risk of coming back that quickly, and we rolled the dice and we come up snake eyes, baby.”
Hooker, who’s coming off back-to-back wins, said he re-injured his arm during sparring.
“Yeah, just sparring yesterday,” Hooker said. “Bro, one of those things. I blocked a thousand kicks in the last couple of months and just one hit on the right spot and it just, yeah. It is what it is.”
“The Hangman” is expected to go under the knife again to repair his arm and sees UFC 300 in April as a good date to target for his return.
“I’ll be back,” Hooker said. “UFC 300 in five months. That’s a good target. Everything happens for a reason. That one wasn’t meant to be. Yeah, UFC 300 in five months. Speaking with the surgeon, that’s a comfortable target for three months of rehab and the training camp. So, onto the future.”
