After a slip up in his UFC debut, Puelles has won five in a row heading into Madison Square Garden on Saturday, with hopes of taking Hooker’s No. 12 spot in the lightweight rankings. While drifting farther and farther away from the title picture, a victory over a promising up-and-comer can help shift the tide back in Hooker’s favor.
“He’s an exciting young kid,” Hooker said. “He’s on a good streak, he’s got a lot of momentum and he asked for this fight. I’m more than happy to oblige for that because obviously after a couple of losses, questions were asked [of me], but questions need to be asked when someone loses a couple of fights.
“It’s an opportunity to prove where I belong in the division. That question got asked, I’m happy to answer the question. Does this kid deserve to be ranked and do I deserve to be ranked, that’s the question being asked and that’s what I’m more than happy to answer. This fight is an opportunity to prove that there’s a skill gap between unranked guys and ranked guys.”
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Even if Hooker doesn’t put pressure upon himself, it’s been laid on him from his coaching staff at City Kickboxing in New Zealand. Competing alongside teammates Brad Riddell, Carlos Ulberg and middleweight champion Israel Adesanya this weekend, Hooker’s coaches emphasize that giving 100 percent doesn’t always earn you a victory, and they expect each of their pupils to reach a highest level of perfection on Saturday night.
“There’s pressure on me from my coaches,” Hooker said, “They definitely bring out the best in us. They demand perfection. Excellence wasn’t good enough. Simply coming out and trying my best is not good enough. You have to strive for perfection and that’s what I’m going to do in the fight.”