After a several-month stay in Las Vegas, Dan Hooker finally went home to New Zealand, but it wasn’t what he expected. In fact, it completely sucked.
Quarantine Hell
‘The Hangman’ finally went back to New Zealand this month after being away for months due to the very, very strict COVID laws. Hooker stayed in Las Vegas since his first-round loss to Islam Makhachev at UFC 267. So when he finally got the go-ahead to return home, he took it. But the COVID protocols were a nightmare.
Speaking The Mac Life, Hooker detailed the horror.
“Well, I got back to New Zealand to an absolute nightmare. Like, I got back to New Zealand and I was still testing positive for COIVD. In America, they do a normal [nose] swab to see if you got COVID, in New Zealand they do like a brain scan,” Hooker said.
“So, they are all panicking, wouldn’t let me out of my room, wouldn’t take my trash from my room. No laundry, nothing. They just locked the door. I was like guys, I’ve had it. I’m pretty sure you can catch it twice in two weeks or three weeks. Settle down! It’s under control! Apparently they tested my COVID and could tell that it’s old COVID, which I told them.”
Getting The Call
While Hooker was locked up in his quarantine room, he got a message from UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby who offered him a fight with No. 7 ranked featherweight Arnold Allen. Hooker being the complete badass like he is accepted, not even knowing it would take place in London.
“Yeah, I was locked in my room and Sean Shelby messaged me and was just like ‘hey, you want to fight Arnold Allen on March 19?’ I was like ‘hey, Kai [Kara France] fights the following weekend, can we do it then?’ He said no, we can’t move him off this date, which I thought was weird but alright then. I tried. I tried to do something smart,” Hooker said.
Hooker didn’t know he was fighting Arnold Allen in his hometown until his coaches told him. Nevertheless, Hooker is excited because it’s rare for two overseas fighters to fight on an overseas card.
Hooker vs. Allen goes down March 19 when the UFC returns to London. Hooker will also be moving back down to featherweight for the first time since 2016. Get hyped.
