Dan Hooker eager to throw down with Arman Tsarukayn at UFC Qatar: ‘There’s bad blood’

Dan Hooker is ready to get into a scrap with Arman Tsarukyan at UFC Qatar.

Hooker is set to headline UFC Qatar on Nov. 22 against Tsarukyan in a pivotal fight at lightweight. The winner of the fight could get the next title shot, but in the lead-up to the bout, Hooker and Tsarukyan have taken aim at one another.

Hooker has threatened Tsarukyan about a pre-fight altercation if he sees him. But, should they both end up making the walk to the Octagon, ‘The Hangman’ is looking forward to it as he said there is bad blood.

“Obviously, there’s bad blood,” Hooker said to Ariel Helwani. “I feel he’s coming at me, like, since he came into the UFC, he’s just discredited me as a fighter and things that I’ve done. That’s his own opinion. It’s just been back and forth over the years, so I’d love to get in there and fight him. It’s just things he’s done in the past. He’s just a lippy little rich kid that’s had everything handed to him in his life.”

It’s clear Dan Hooker isn’t a fan of Arman Tsarukyan and wants to beat him up. He also says Tsarukyan better not come up to him during fight week, or there will be issues.

Dan Hooker explains why he wanted Arman Tsarukyan fight

Although Tsarukyan is considered a dangerous fight for Hooker, he didn’t hesitate to take the fight.

Hooker believes this is a great fight for him, and if he wins, he will be getting a title shot, which is his goal.

“I knew that absolutely no one wants to fight the guy,” Hooker said. “I know that no one wants to take that risk. Everyone does have a reason to avoid him as well, with the weight miss and things like that… I knew he had to fight to get back into title contention. So I knew that this fight, I would be the only person that would want the most difficult fight. I don’t discredit the other guys for picking their battles and trying to find the path of least resistance. That’s just not the way that I do things. He’s the toughest test. He’s the best fighter in the division.”

Dan Hooker is coming off a split decision win over Mateusz Gamrot to extend his win streak to three.