Beneil Dariush is considering retirement, and Dan Hooker is willing to step in to affirm the decision.
Dariush experienced his latest loss to Arman Tsarukyan, who defeated him via KO last month. This resulted in his present two-fight losing skid, pushing the fighter to consider exiting the cage. Yet, the fighter hinted at wanting one final fight to give him the answer to his decision.
“I just want to know if I still got it,” Dariush said in an interview in December. “That’s like my biggest thing. Because it’s one thing to go into the training room and perform really well, and it’s another thing to go into that octagon and perform really well. And if I don’t have it, I need to know so that way I can find a way to put my energy into something else and move forward, because there’s no point if I can’t be the best.”
Despite his loss, Darisuh remains the No. 7-ranked fighter in lightweight, making him an interesting target in his division. Hooker is the latest to show interest in challenging the fellow UFC veteran.
“I’ll fight Beneil in June,” Hooker said on ENGAGE’s YouTube channel. “Whether that be (Conor) McGregor’s card International Fight Week, if he’s just pulling everyone’s chain as he usually does. I hear (the UFC is) coming back mid-year sometime in Australia. That as well, it would be cool to fight close to home.
“So, Benny is ranked above me coming off a couple of losses, but let’s go, baby. He’s come out and said, yeah, he wants to see if he still got it. Well, I can check, brother. I’ll check for you.”
Hooker was supposed to face Bobby Green at UFC on ESPN 52 but had to withdraw due to an arm injury. Now that the fighter is back in training, he’s hoping to get his next fight to be booked officially by the promotion. Prior to his interest in Dariush, “The Hangman” also volunteered to be the backup for the Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler bout.
