Arman Tsarukyan and Dan Hooker
UFC lightweight prospect Arman Tsarukyan is not keen on fighting Dan Hooker at this stage of his career
The talent stacked lightweight division is seeing a fresh crop of talent emerging up in ranks, and amongst them is 25 years old Armenian-Russian fighter Arman Tsarukyan. Tipped to be the big thing at 155 lbs., Arman is one of the most complete young fighters in the game today.
Not too long back, Tsarukyan engaged in a war of words with MMA fan favorite and striking maven Dan Hooker, expressing interest in fighting the top dog of the division. However, Hooker has been on a perpetual slant since then, losing four out of past five fights.
Tsarukyan has edged past Hooker in rankings, and his last loss came against top-ranked Islam Makhachev back in 2019 via decision. Tsarukyan is scheduled to face Mateusz Gamrot on June 25, 2022.
MMA journalist James Lynch recently spoke to Tsarukyan and informed that Hooker is set to return to the lightweight division after competing at featherweight in his last fight. He asked the young fighter whether he’s still keen on the idea of that fight, to which Tsarukyan responded by stating:
“No, no. Now, he’s not a good fighter, you know. Before? Yes. He lost his last two or three fights, you know. And he beat someone from unranked guys, you know. Like, what’s his name? Nasrat [Haqparast]. Yeah, Nasrat.”
“And he [Hooker] is not interesting for me, you know, because it wastes time to beat him. You know, just, if I beat him, they say, ‘Oh, he lost fights.’” Tsarukyan reiterated that Hooker is on a losing streak and added: “It’s no point to beat him now.”
A fan tweeted at Poiried for his opinion on the idea of a few matchups. The fan said, ‘ You vs Chandler, Tony vs MCnuggets, only makes sense’
Tony has been on a four fight loosing streak, and has looked the inadequate and substandard in all his outings. He has only won probably one round in his last four fights, and fans as well as MMA fighters are worried for him. Hooker on the other hand is on a similar slant, having lost four of his last five fights.
Poirier replied to the fan account by saying, ‘ Tony vs Hooker is a fun fight’
The matchup has everything in making for an absolute classic, and might serve as a boost for both the fighters who have been losing to elite competition in the division.
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