The surging lightweight from New Zealand, Dan Hooker, opens up about what fuels his desire to compete, the current state of the division and his dream fights against Anthony Pettis or Edson Barboza in this FanSided MMA exclusive.

Shortly after collecting his fourth straight stoppage win since returning to the lightweight division last month at UFC 226, Dan Hooker stood before the assembled media, who kicked off the post-fight Q&A session by asking the New Zealander his feelings about his performance against Gilbert Burns.

Hooker said he wasn’t particularly happy, a response that caught the media members off guard given that the 28-year-old talent had settled Burns in just under half a round to maintain his current hot streak.

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“I guess me and the other fighters are in this sport for different reasons, I guess,” said Hooker, back home in New Zealander, itching to return to action. “Some of them fight for money, they fight for attention or things like that, but I purely compete in this game for the competition.

“I want to know who the best is and I think I’m up there and I want to know how I stack up.”

In addition to surprising the press corps by being nonplussed about his performance opposite Burns, the City Kickboxing representative took a different approach to request a step up in competition next time out.

Rather than stick out his chest and sing his own praises, Hooker instead offered up an Occupational Health & Safety-based argument, suggesting that the UFC would be doing a disservice to other lightweights by sending them into the Octagon to face him if they aren’t ready for what he brings to the table.

“Tell me if I’m lying,” said Hooker, reflecting on his post-fight comments. “These guys aren’t getting bumps and bruises and beat up a little bit; two of the last four had facial surgery.

“I feel like these guys are getting hurt and if you put another unranked fighter or a guy that’s not of that same level of understanding about what goes into this game, it’s just going to be another one.

“These guys aren’t getting bumps and bruises and beat up a little bit; two of the last four had facial surgery.”

“I don’t take any enjoyment out of that. I don’t take any enjoyment out of hurting these guys; we’re just in there to make a paycheck and make a living.”

The trouble for Hooker at the moment is that everyone in the Top 10 is either booked or appears ready to let someone else be the one that gets shuffled into the cage with the surging finisher.

Just as he politely asked Paul Felder if he would like to tussle when “The Irish Dragon” interviewed him in the cage following his hellacious first-round knockout win over Jim Miller in April, “The Hangman” has taken to Twitter to state his willingness to step up whenever a Top 10 lightweight mentions they’re looking for a fight.

He raised his hand via emoji when it was mentioned that Kevin Lee was looking to share the cage with Al Iaquinta at UFC 229 because he sees an opportunity to potentially step in for Khabib Nurmagomedov or Conor McGregor should one of them be unable to compete on the October 6 fight card at T-Mobile Arena and chided former champ Anthony Pettis when he took to social media to ask the Serra-Longo product who has fought sporadically over the last three years a similar question on the social media platform.

https://twitter.com/danthehangman/status/1026202949087686656

https://twitter.com/danthehangman/status/1018699774332039168

Hooker also asked Brazilian standout, Edson Barboza, if he would be down to dance at UFC 229 before putting out an open invitation to any of the ranked lightweights to sign on to face him as part of the massive early October fight card in Las Vegas.

There must be another ranked LW who wants on this card? @seanshelby @danawhite https://t.co/Ls3hVmGUfH — Dan Hangman Hooker (@danthehangman) August 4, 2018

“It is a bit frustrating,” said Hooker, who is more focused on getting back into the cage than making sure he does so against a ranked opponent at this point. “I’m fit, I’m healthy, I’m ranked in the Top 15 in the world and I want to fight. I want to fight anybody.

“If anybody sticks their hand up and they say, ‘I can beat Dan Hooker. I’ve got the fight for you; I will give you the toughest fight of your life,’ fine – the fight is yours. You’re my guy! They don’t have to be ranked higher than me. They don’t have to be a big name. They don’t have to be anything. If you put your hand up and say, ‘I’m the guy; I’m ready to go,’ then let’s make the fight.”

While the who and the when is ultimately up to UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby, if Hooker had his choice of opponents, he fancies sharing the cage with Barboza, the Top 10 fixture who recently relocated to American Top Team after several years working with Mark Henry, Ricardo Almeida and the Iron Army crew in New Jersey.

“I’m not real fussed about the Pettis fight,” Hooker offered when asked about his response to the former champion when he tagged Iaquinta about a possible fight at UFC 229. “He’s a big name, but I don’t think he’s got the fight. Just seeing him fight, he doesn’t have the heart to gun it out with me, so I’m not super-upset that he’s not taking the fight.

“I think Barboza has got the fight,” he added. “If I really had to pick a guy, it would be Barboza. I think he’s got the challenge, the skills and I have a lot of respect for him and it would be an honor to get in there with Barboza.

“Barboza is the guy. He’s the guy that can give me the fight that I really crave, that level of competition.”

For the talented Kiwi, it all goes back to the outlook he shared with the assembled media backstage at T-Mobile Arena following his blistering finish of Burns.

Just as he was ultimately unsatisfied with spending eight weeks in the gym and taking a 15-plus-hour flight from Auckland to Las Vegas for half-a-round of work, Hooker isn’t looking to simply pad his resume by continuing to settle opponents who aren’t on his level.

He wants to be tested.

He wants to share the cage with the most dangerous opposition possible.

He wants to face someone who is capable of doing to him what he did to Burns and Miller and Marc Diakiese and Ross Pearson.

“Give me another guy who knows where that off switch is and how to shut people down. Give me a guy that can do that to me.

“I don’t want a fight where people say, ‘Ah, Dan’s got this one in the bag.’ When I get my next match, I want people to go, ‘Oh, Dan’s in trouble here. Dan’s in for a fight.’ That’s the kind of fight I look for, that’s the kind of fight I train for and that’s why I get out of bed in the morning.”

Ideally, he gets a call with an opponent and a date soon because with each successive impressive performance, the hunger to get back in the Octagon and do it against grows stronger, although there is one way Hooker would be happy to delay his return a little longer:

Edson Barboza vs. Dan Hooker in the main event of UFC Adelaide at Adelaide Entertainment Center on December 2nd.

“That’s a fight!” he said, reacting to the suggestion. “That’s a fight I’ll wait for. That’s the only fight I’ll wait for.

“If they give me that fight, well s*** – I can wait 16 weeks then!”

He didn’t have to pause to do the math on how long it was until the Octagon returned to Australia.

In case you couldn’t already tell, Dan Hooker is itching to fight.

Any takers?