Conor McGregor recently shared training footage that led many to believe that he might be preparing for a fight. Recently, McGregor told Donagh Corby of Bloody Elbow that his next fight will be against Dan Hooker on Feb. 1 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
A few days after the statement, the Irishman was seen doing pad work in several video clips posted on his Instagram story. @uncrownedcombat re-posted one of the videos on X.
Check out the training footage below:
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
During an interview with Fox Sports Australia a few weeks ago, Hooker had said that he will try to strike a fight deal with McGregor while attending the BKFC event in Spain. While speaking to TheMacLife in his Oct. 15 interview, Hooker was asked if the Irishmn's claims of a February showdown surprised him. He replied:
"That's what I've come here [in Spain] for... It was potentially to see if the Conor fight is a possibility and now we know it is a possibility."
Check out Dan Hooker's comments below (2:00):
Hooker hit a rough patch in his professional MMA career when he went 1-4 in the UFC from 2020 to 2022. However, he bounced back with impressive victories against respectable opponents. In his most recent outing, 'Hangman' defeated Mateusz Gamrot by a split decision at UFC 305 to extend his win streak to three. The win also helped him jump to the No.5 spot in the official UFC lightweight rankings.
Dustin Poirier not sure about Conor McGregor's return, speaks about the Dan Hooker fight
Former interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier holds wins over Conor McGregor and Dan Hooker. McGregor has been on the sidelines since suffering a brutal leg break in his July 2021 trilogy fight against the Louisiana native.
During a recent interview with MMA journalist Ariel Helwani, Poirier shared his thoughts on the chances of the former UFC double champion's return to MMA competition. He said:
"I don't know if he's ever going to fight again. I was thinking for sure that he was [going to fight again] in the beginning of his return against Chandler. Then it kept getting dragged on. So I don't know."
When asked to predict the outcome of a potential fight between Hooker and McGregor, Poirier replied:
"That's a fun fight, man. Either guy. I think whoever lands the biggest, clean shot first wins."
Check out Dustin Poirier's comments below (16:49):