"Don’t think anyone will be putting their hands up" - Fans throw in names as they try to play matchmaker for Dan Hooker

UFC 290 took place last weekend, and one fighter who came away from the event with his stock way up was lightweight veteran Dan Hooker.

‘The Hangman’ edged out Jalin Turner in what was undoubtedly one of the best bouts on offer on the night, despite suffering a deep cut that caused him to bleed badly.

The victory moved the native of New Zealand onto a two-fight win streak, and he now sits at No.10 in the lightweight rankings.

In the days that have followed UFC 290, the question of who should be next to face Dan Hooker has come to the forefront of the minds of many fans.

This subject has come up on Reddit, with fans debating the various options that could lie in the future for ‘The Hangman’. It’s clear from this that his position in the lightweight division is a topic for debate.

Who should Dan hooker fight next by u/UpstairsRevenue3 in ufc

One fan who was clearly impressed with Hooker’s showing at UFC 290 suggested that nobody would really want to fight him:

“Don’t think anyone will be putting their hands up he’s too tough.”

Another fan suggested that he could face off with either Beneil Dariush or Rafael Fiziev, both of whom currently sit in the top ten at lightweight:

“Fiziev would be a banger. Beneil is also an option.”

However, one fan quickly shot this idea down in their reply:

“Dan has been in enough slugfests that I am genuinely concerned for his well-being, rather see him against Beneil than take another hefty dose of CTE from Fiziev.”

This was a sentiment clearly shared by another fan, who suggested he ought to consider retirement:

“I feel the same way. I hope he just takes a fight or two with grapplers and rides off into the sunset with money. He’s surely got very bad CTE by now.”

Despite this, another fan seemed happy for ‘The Hangman’ to continue taking on heavy hitters, suggesting Justin Gaethje as a potential future opponent:

“I know this sounds stupid, but I’d love to see Dan v Gaethje.”

A more realistic suggestion, perhaps, came from another fan, who offered three different names.

“Moicano, Frevola or Dawson.”

A collage of comments can be seen below:

Fans discuss possible opponents for Dan Hooker

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Dan Hooker injuries: What happened to ‘The Hangman’ at UFC 290?

Dan Hooker might’ve edged out opponent Jalin Turner at UFC 290, but his win didn’t come without a cost.

‘The Hangman’ suffered a horrendous cut during the fight that practically dyed his bleach-blonde hair red. This drew comparisons to WWE legend Ric Flair, who was renowned for getting blood in his hair.

However, Hooker also suffered a pair of very serious injuries during the bout. He recently posted x-ray photos to his Instagram apparently showing broken bones in both his arm and his face.

It’s likely that these injuries will keep the native of New Zealand out of the octagon for the foreseeable future at least.