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‘What does he have left to lose’: Fans react to react to Dan Hooker’s beef with UFC

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Dan Hooker | Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Dan Hooker didn’t hold back criticizing some of the UFC’s policies in a recent interview.

Speaking to Submission Radio, Hooker took the opportunity to air several grievances with the promotion he’s fought for since 2014, including claiming he was denied to tickets to UFC 317, his belief that fighters need to be paid significantly more to sign up for five-round fights, and that the matchmakers prefer divisions not to have a clear-cut No. 1 contender so they can leverage big names against one another at the negotiating table.

Hooker has long been regarded as one of the UFC’s workhorses, having fought top competition for years and compiled multiple post-fight bonuses. He is currently ranked No. 6 in the promotion’s official rankings as he sits on the sidelines recovering from hand surgery.

Fans in the MMA Fighting comments were mixed in their response to Hooker’s comments, with some praising him for speaking up and others questioning the timing and reasoning behind his arguments.

Check out how fans reacted to the Hooker-UFC beef below.

Unc1everBret
Rough timing for Hooker here. He is about 1-2 fights from being washed.
He isn’t wrong, but shitting on a company you believe to be shred negotiators when your leverage is almost out seems like a bad move.
RichardBirkwood
Why? What does he have left to lose at this point? If he’s really on his way out, publicity is his best bet. It may be a risky gamble, but it’s the last one he has left
VeeDrawStuff
“you think there would be a bit more respect there for guys who literally give their life. The amount of blood, sweat, and tears I’ve poured into putting shows on for that company, I thought there would have been a bit more respect there. But there’s not, which is cool”
I don’t know about Hooker and some other fighters, but I wonder if they have been paying attention to the treatment of many past UFC employees and past fighters. Maybe Hooker doesn’t realize yet that they view him as another expendable, foreign fighter.
The game don’t love or respect you.
King_Leonidas4
“The UFC is smart as f*ck,”
Have you not been paying attention the jon jones and Tom Aspinal debacle?
Dagestanbear
A little bit late with his realizations
cavalloaquatico
I don’t understand the drama. All he had to do was call Sean, Dana, etc. about the tickets or any other issues,
Art Sir
i dont think thats how it works, Dana is not picking up hooker’s call.
Electric_Company
*Dana will pick up a hooker’s call, but not Dan Hooker’s call.
ppg
‘I’m not going to break my back for a company that doesn’t respect me’
If you are a LW and your name is not Topuria or Pimblett right now that’s what you face Dan. Go ahead and beat up a killer’s row of Tony Ferguson, Bobby Green, and Michael Chandler and maybe you wont have to break your back for the company.
Be subpar for Ja’Marr
We gave you $200k in the settlement you goof!! What else do you want?
Abstractions
This part was so… funny to read considering just a few ago he was company man defending the UFC for their anti fighter habits. It’s unbelievable how selfish and short sighted these fighters are. As long as they individually arent getting spit in their face at that exact moment, they see nothing wrong with the way the company is using and abusing the fighters meanwhile their executives are gazzilionaires.
“You work in the office, brother, I work in the—you think there would be a bit more respect there for guys who literally give their life. The amount of blood, sweat, and tears I’ve poured into putting shows on for that company, I thought there would have been a bit more respect there. But there’s not,
Skoomskaa
Some things aren’t making sense about this. Did the UFC book him for something without talking to him first? Was the time of the “something” discussed in advance? If so, then I can see the company not being happy about a no-show and deciding to retract a favor of comped tickets.
As for the rest of his rant, Dan’s just feeling what the majority of working people deal with every day. Many of us have known people who sacrificed family time, health, etc. to be a good team player only to be let go without notice when it was expedient or the business. Some of us have been that person.
Even Mafia guys will tell you that good earners get whacked sometimes. It’s just part of the business.
Tuco Benedicto Pacifico Juan Maria Ramirez
I like Hooker, but this seems naïve. Was he expecting to be treated with Conor/Bones Privilege?
The toaster
Agreed they should pay more than a $20k tip for main events. Prolly been that number for a long time, but ufc has no incentive to increase it
Brotherwu
Dan is not making any new points here. He might want to curb his words. At this rate, he’s giving the UFC an excuse to say “you’re right. Half a million for 15 minutes and $520,000 for 25 minutes makes no sense. Here’s a contract for $300,000 for a 3 rounder.”
Scholar Diaz
They never paint themselves into a situation where there’s a clear No. 1 contender
JMPMMAFan

Corporate America loves asymmetrical negotiations. Whether you’re a standalone doctor having to negotiate your reimbursement rates with huge insurance companies or an independent contractor/fighter negotiating the terms of your pay with a publicly traded company, even “prestige” professionals are no match against the negotiating power of billion $ corporations.
Get organized if you really want to make America great again. In 1965, 30% of the workforce was in a union. It’s 10% today. It’s amazing how that’s forgotten or ignored by people with nostalgia for a certain kind of past.

Wyld Stallones
If more people had Hooker’s guts fighters would be in a much better position.

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