Dan Hooker has revealed that Arman Tsarukyan broke his nose with a headbutt at the weigh-in before their UFC fight in November. The incident occurred as the two faced off, with Tsarukyan leaning in and making contact with Hooker's face. Hooker initially downplayed the moment but now says it affected his performance.
Speaking ahead of his UFC 325 bout against Benoit Saint-Denis, Hooker told Uncrowned: 'It was when this c*** f***ing headbutted me at the weigh-in, and broke my f***ing nose. It pissed me right off, but you can’t get emotional at that stage of the fight. I was fuming. That threw me off, for sure.'
Hooker, 35, lost to Tsarukyan via second-round submission in Qatar, ending his three-fight win streak. He only discovered the fracture after a post-fight hospital scan. 'They were like: “You’ve got a fractured nose.” I thought: “C***, that was the weigh-in, that had absolutely nothing to do with the fight.”'
Despite the injury, Hooker refused to delay his next fight for medical clearance. 'You already let me have one fight with it, now you’re going to stop me from having another fight with it? That was from the weigh-in, brother, that had nothing to do with the fight.'
Tsarukyan, 29, has since been overlooked for a title shot, with Justin Gaethje instead facing Paddy Pimblett for the interim lightweight belt at UFC 325. Hooker expressed sympathy for Tsarukyan, saying: 'I feel bad, I like Arman now. He’s won me over as a fan. That’s the saddest part about it: that the best years of his career are being wasted.'
