Dan Hooker busts Benoît Saint Denis fight reports and says he's fighting Charles Oliveira: "I'm fighting Charlie olives"

Charles Oliveira remains Dan Hooker's primary interest in the UFC, as 'The Hangman' recently took to X/Twitter to pour cold water of a recent rumor about him possibly facing Benoît Saint Denis at UFC 305. Not only did the New Zealander dismiss a potential match-up with the Frenchman but he reaffirmed his desire to face 'do Bronx.'

The former lightweight champion appears to be the only fight that Hooker is willing to take, especially at this point in his career. Now, however, the ball is in the UFC's court, as the promotion is challenged with setting up a bout between two fighters at vastly different points in their careers.

Hooker wrote on X:

"You can officially kiss my *ss I'm fighting Charlie olives."

Hooker just escaped a career-worst rough patch, authoring a two-fight win streak to create distance between his prior run of one win and four losses. Meanwhile, Oliveira is a former champion in the division. While Hooker is ranked outside of the top 10 at #11, Oliveira is ranked #2.

'Do Bronx' is currently 1-2 in his last three fights, having recently lost to Arman Tsarukyan via split decision and Islam Makhachev via submission, with the latter costing him his lightweight strap. He did, though, TKO then streaking 155-pounder Beneil Dariush.

Given Oliveira's desire to recapture lightweight gold, it is unlikely that he would accept such a low-ranked matchup that would do nothing to earn a title shot were he to win. He is in the top three of his division while Hooker is in the top 15.

There is little chance he will follow Dustin Poirier's lead and fight someone ranked so low.

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Charles Oliveira took to X/Twitter to address rumors about fighting Dan Hooker

While Dan Hooker has remained steadfast in his interest in fighting Charles Oliveira, the Brazilian claimed that he was unaware of any such matchup being in the works.

"People have been booking fights for me that I'm not aware of. Metaverse fights? Maybe"

Alexander Volkanovski recently expressed his interest in facing 'do Bronx'. As a former featherweight champion with a much stronger legacy and better name value than Hooker, he is someone that Oliveira could be more open to fighting.