Dan Hooker Thinks He’s A ‘Terrible Loser’

UFC lightweight star Dan Hooker has opened up about having difficulty dealing with losses despite losing just 10 times in his pro MMA career so far.

The New Zealander is set to face Afghan Nasrat Haqparast on September 25 in Vegas. He is on a two-fight losing streak; out of his 30 fights, he’s lost 10.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m a terrible loser. Don’t think for a second that I’m not a sore loser. I am ultra-competitive and I am the sorest loser,” Hooker told ESPN.

Against Dustin Poirier, Hooker put up a stellar performance in a bloody counter.

But he did seem out of shape against Michael Chandler. After Chandler got the win on his UFC debut with a first-round knockout against Hooker, the latter made a decision to hang his gloves.

“That’s why I retired after that last fight. I’ve lost 10 fights and I’ve retired nine times, the only time I didn’t retire was when I had a fight the week after. I said I’d retire after that fight but then I won that one and I was back in business.”

Hooker said that his ability to deal with defeats gets harder with every loss.

“That’s something I do regularly and it never gets any easier,” he said.