Dan Hooker is fine being considered a gatekeeper heading into UFC Paris.

Hooker is set to headline UFC Paris on Saturday against newcomer Salahdine Parnasse. Heading into the fight, Hooker is a sizable +420 underdog while the Frenchman is a -650 favorite on FanDuel.

Although Hooker is a sizable underdog, he has plenty of confidence in himself that he can silence the Paris crowd and upset Parnasse. If he does upset Parnasse, Hooker knows he won't be considered a gatekeeper anymore and will be back to a true contender.

“I'm more than happy to play the role that I'm in right now and the role that I'm in right now is gatekeeping the top 10 of the UFC's lightweight division,†Hooker said at UFC Paris media day. “And I'm more than happy to play that role. Is that a position that defines my career? No, it's not. You get your hand raised, and then I'll be looking up at the rankings, and I'll be looking to get back in the mix and to get myself back to title contention.

Dan Hooker eyes top-10 opponent after UFC Paris

“Yes, you're playing the role of a gatekeeper right now, but that doesn't define your career, the future of your career. The beauty of the sport is it can change in one single night. You get your hand raised against Salahdine with an impressive fight, and showcase the skill and the level that I'm prepared to showcase, that I anticipate of showcasing, we're back in the mix, we're not playing that role anymore, we're targeting someone in the top 10.â€

If Hooker does beat Parnasse at UFC Paris, he does want a top-10 opponent next. Even though Parnasse is a UFC newcomer, he does think highly of him and points to the fact that he's headlining a UFC card in his debut.

Dan Hooker enters UFC Paris with a record of 24-14 and is coming off back-to-back stoppage losses. He suffered a TKO loss to Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 325 in February and suffered a submission loss to Arman Tsarukyan before that.

Do you think Dan Hooker can pull off the upset at UFC Paris?

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Justin Gaethje initially had revenge on his mind, but he'd put that to the side for a clash with Conor McGregor.

Gaethje has fought just about every high-level lightweight of his era that one can think of. He's taken on the likes of Max Holloway, Charles Oliveira, Ilia Topuria, Dustin Poirier, and Eddie Alvarez to name a few. The one name who has eluded him is McGregor.

While Gaethje suffered a brutal knockout loss to Holloway and was choked out by Oliveira, “The Highlight†told CBS Sports' Damien Harris that he'd rather finally get his hands on “Mystic Mac†than get a chance at redemption (via MMAFighting).

“Damn, there's really no one,†Gaethje said. “It would have been Oliveira or Holloway, but since Topuria beat them, I'm going to go ahead and justify it to myself like I got them back.

“So I guess McGregor. Fun to shut him up.â€

Gaethje is the reigning UFC lightweight titleholder after Topuria failed to leave his stool for the fifth round of their UFC Freedom 250 clash back in June. Throughout his career, Gaethje had been chasing undisputed status. Now that he has achieved his goal, the fan favorite admits he's in unfamiliar territory.

“It's such a weird place to be in,†Gaethje said. “There's always been a champion, I've always had somebody to chase. Now, being the champion, it's like I just have to retain and hold onto what I have. I'm not looking at specific opponents, I know the best in the world are gunning for me. So that is the name of the game. I know that it's going to be one of the best guys in the world.

“Arman [Tsarukyan] was fighting Oliveira, now he's fighting someone else, so there's a couple of big fights that are going to determine who I'll fight next.â€

Tsarukyan has a fight with Mauricio Ruffy scheduled for UFC 331 on Sept. 19. If “Batman†is able to win that bout, he could find himself challenging Gaethje for the top prize at 155 pounds. If Ruffy pulls off the upset, it would make things quite interesting for the UFC matchmakers.

Do you think Justin Gaethje should ditch the idea of fighting Conor McGregor, or is there still a chance the bout could take place? Sound off in the comments below.

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Tom Aspinall is eager to get back inside the Octagon, but Eddie Hearn said his fighter needs additional testing on his eyes before he throws leather again.

Aspinall hasn't been in action since suffering a double eye poke in the UFC 321 main event back in Oct. 2025. He was putting his heavyweight gold at stake against Ciryl Gane, who was having success on the feet before committing the accidental foul. Aspinall couldn't continue, and the fight was ruled a no contest.

In the following weeks and months, Aspinall had to undergo numerous eye surgeries to correct his issues. While Hearn, who represents Aspinall through Matchroom's talent agency, wants to see his fighter leave no doubt as to who runs the UFC heavyweight division, he admitted to Bloody Elbow that there is still a hurdle to clear (via MMAFighting).

“He's under contract,†Hearn said. “The only thing that we have to look at is when Tom Aspinall will be ready to return. And that's not when he will be ready to return from a mindset perspective; that's from a commission perspective in terms of his injuries. And that shows you what he has been through, because if the commission won't let him fight, you know how serious the injuries were. Not saying that's the case, but that's the position we need to get to in order for him to return to the ring.

“He's motivated, and I can't give you an exact date yet, but what I can tell you is he wants to get back in there as soon as he is physically able to do so.â€

Hearn insists that Aspinall is in the right frame of mind to do battle once again, but he must see through the logistics before he's back to prizefighting.

“It all depends whether he'll be ready,†Hearn said. “He's training. I think he's gonna have to go through some additional testing to make sure he's good to return, but he wants to fight.

Ciryl Gane has since captured the interim heavyweight title, stopping Alex Pereira via second-round TKO at UFC Freedom 250. A title unification bout with Aspinall is the clear path once the main champion is fully ready to compete again.

Are you expecting Tom Aspinall to fight Ciryl Gane in a title unification bout before the end of 2026, or will we have to wait a bit longer? Join in on the conversation in the comments below.

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