Dan Hooker's 'busted paw' has ruled him out of UFC 313 clash with Justin Gaethje
By Simon Head
New Zealand lightweight contender Dan Hooker is officially out of his UFC 313 bout with Justin Gaethje and, after confirming the news Hooker has given some more detail on how things fell through.
Hooker had initially stated on his daughter’s YouTube channel that he’d “busted my paw”. And now, the No. 6-ranked lightweight contender has explained how it all happened.
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“One of the paws is not doing too well,” Hooker told Sky Sports New Zealand.
“I was sparring last night, as I do, just letting some hooks go, just throwing some bombs down range, and I just caught one of the boys on the top of the dome with my knuckle.
“I don’t think too much of it, but they sent me off to get a CT scan. Had a little CT scan and they told me my hand is fractured.”
Hooker admitted that, if the pain wasn't too bad and he could grit his way through a pre-fight medical, he'd still have stepped into the Octagon to face Gaethje in Las Vegas on March 8. But, with the injury too obvious, and too painful, "The Hangman" has resigned himself to having to sit out the event.
“So yeah, I obviously still would fight,” Hooker said.
“But with the medicals they squeeze your hands and AAAAARGH! So we’ll see how it all plays out. We’ll see if we can kick this fight down the road, or, yeah, we’ll just wait and see."
“People are like, ‘Oh, why didn't you do this? Why didn't you do that? Why didn't you just be a bit more careful?’
“I wouldn't play this sport if I was a bit careful, you know what I mean? I'd be a cricket player!
“It's part and parcel of the sport. The training is hard, there's a lot of crashes and bangs, and it's just unfortunate that it was this close.
“(I’m) obviously gutted for all the fans I know that were excited for this fight. That's probably the main thing. I think just the Lords of War were not happy, and they took it away from you.”
Hooker may be out of UFC 313 in March, but he’s already targeting a return in the summer, and is eyeing the possibility of claiming a spot on the fight card for UFC 317, which is set to take place during UFC International Fight Week at the end of June.
“Yeah, I don't know if Justin Gaethje’s probably not going to wait that long. They might have found my replacement by now.
"But yeah, I’ll be back, good to go for International Fight Week. That’s June, July, back in Las Vegas. So that’s not too far away.
"I was expecting to take some pretty hefty damage in this fight and be recovering for quite a while. So yeah, by the time International Fight Week comes around, it’s just a small fracture in my hand.
"We’ll get it sorted ASAP, and we back in there in no time.”
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