Dan Hooker won’t be able to join the UFC Austin event due to an arm injury, which the fighter admits and said that it happened after he “took a risk.” With this, the place of “The Hangman” is now vacant, with the UFC trying to find a replacement for him. To make it faster, Bobby Green himself made a callout to all available fighters in his decision, saying he wanted to see a “gangster” like him.

The withdrawal of Hooker was reported earlier this week, which scratched him off of the event’s lineup. The battle between Brown and Hooker was supposed to be the co-main event complementing the main event bout of Beneil Dariush and Arman Tsarukyan.

In his latest interview, the New Zealand fighter shared how he got the injury and immediately owned the blame for everything.

“Sparring yesterday, blocked a bit of a kick, went in for an X-ray, she’s clustered,” Hooker told Submission Radio. “Just broke in the same place. It kind of is what it is.

“I took a risk. I obviously was coming back a little quicker than … yeah, it’s all on me, brother. I rushed to come back. I wanted to fight and I knew the risk of coming back that quickly and we rolled the dice. We come up snake eyes, baby.”

Needless to say, The Hangman expressed frustration over the decision, especially since he’s only one week away from the fight. Yet, the fighter promised to make a return after recovering, sharing that the UFC 300 is a “good target.”

“I took a risk, I’ll just go back, get it healed properly, and I’ll be back,” said Hooker. “UFC 300’s in five months. That’s a good target. Everything happens for a reason. That one wasn’t meant to be. That’s a comfortable target for three months of rehab and the training camp, so onto the future.”

As for Brown, the withdrawal of an opponent means preparing for a new fighter. However, despite only having days away from the event, UFC is still looking for a replacement. Brown wants to expedite the process and is now calling out every fighter available.

“I want to see who’s gangster like me,” Green said on his Instagram Stories. I fought on 10 days’ notice. I went on two weeks’ notice. I done made weight, passed the f*ck out, my lungs collapsed, and everything on two weeks’ notice. I done did it all. Let me see who gangster like me. I guarantee don’t nobody step up. Let’s find out.”

With all that, some fighters expressed interest in taking the fight, albeit unofficial. First is Rafael dos Anjos, saying he can make it at 165/170 in his backyard. Meanwhile, Jared Gordon, who encountered “King” in April (although the fight was given a no-contest status), said on X to “run it back.” Terrance McKinney also commented, saying it “would be a honor to throw down with King but every torch must be past down.”

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