Dan Hooker explains why he turned down Benoit Saint Denis main event bout to fight at UFC 305

Dan Hooker has been pushing to be a part of the UFC 305 card for several months and finally got his wish as it would be reported in July that he would face Mateusz Gamrot on the Aug. 17 event. However, Hooker admitted that he had to make a few sacrifices to make the fight happen.

As 'The Hangman' explained to Submission Radio in an interview that was released on July 15, Hooker acknowledged that he rejected an offer to fight Benoit Saint Denis in the main event of UFC Paris. The lightweight veteran said he had to "stand his ground" during negotiations with the UFC as he was determined to fight on the Perth card more than anything else.

Hooker said:

"It pretty much just came down to me standing my ground and not budging on fighting in Perth... Nothing beats the Anzac crowd, the Aussies [and] the Kiwis. Nothing beats being on a card with your brothers... [The UFC offered me] the main event with the f****** French guy I've never heard of, and I was just like: 'I want to fight in Perth.'"

The matchup is not yet listed on the UFC website as a part of UFC 305 but Hooker confirmed in the interview that he signed a contract to face Gamrot in his home country.

Instead of Hooker, Saint-Denis is scheduled to fight Renato Moicano at UFC Paris on Sept. 28. The UFC has not confirmed that it will be the main event but both fighters have said they agreed to a five-round headlining bout.

Watch the full interview with Dan Hooker from Submission Radio on YouTube below:

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Dan Hooker vs. Mateusz Gamrot preview

As two fighters currently on win streaks in the UFC lightweight division, Dan Hooker and Mateusz Gamrot will put both of their championship aspirations on the line against each other at UFC 305.

For Hooker, the fight will be his first in over a year, last beating Jalin Turner at UFC 290 in one of the best fights of 2023. The win was his second straight after stopping Claudio Puelles in the second round at UFC 281.

Gamrot will enter the matchup having won three straight including his last victory over Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 299. Overall, the Pole owns a 7-2 record in the UFC with notable wins over Turner, Arman Tsarukyan, and Carlos Diego Ferreira.

Hooker is expected to be the third member of the American Kickboxing Academy to compete on the card. Israel Adesanya will headline the event in a title fight with middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis with flyweight Kai Kara-France booked against recent title challenger Steve Erceg.