UFC Auckland: Dan Hooker and the phone call from Hong Kong that changed his life
- ‘The Hangman’ headlines UFC Fight Night 168 in his native New Zealand against Paul Felder on Sunday
- Just eight years ago he was working in a kitchen factory, pondering his future in MMA
Dan “The Hangman” Hooker has revealed it was a surprise telephone call from Hong Kong that set his career on a path that now has him poised to challenge the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor at the top of the UFC’s lightweight division.
It came on a Saturday night in 2012 when the New Zealander was pondering his future as he tried to combine his passion for MMA with the harsh realities of having to earn a living wage. The little matter of the latter meant Hooker’s days were spent carving out marble slabs in a kitchen factory while he slotted in the hours he needed to train whenever he possibly could.
Then the phone rang. And then there was no turning back.
“I got the call about the contract on Saturday and on Monday I went in and told my boss I was done,” Hooker says. “I told him I had this incredible opportunity and I couldn’t work any more. I was fighting for 1,000 bucks and I thought ‘What? They’re gonna pay me 1,000 bucks?’ But I soon learned you can’t eat for two months off 1,000 bucks. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
Hooker ended up fighting twice for what was the first incarnation of the recently relaunched Hong Kong-based Legend FC promotion, going 1-1 before continuing to hone his craft in New Zealand and Australia and then becoming among the first trickle of Australasian talent to sign with the UFC.