Connect with us

MMA

Dan Hooker responds to death threats he received ahead of UFC Paris: ‘Nothing they can do but shut the f*ck up’

Published

2 months ago

on

Dan Hooker responds to death threats he received ahead of UFC Paris: ‘Nothing they can do but shut the f*ck up’

When the UFC came calling to ask Dan Hooker to fight in a main event in Paris against a local favorite making his debut, the veteran lightweight didn't blink and immediately said yes.

Hooker has never avoided enemy territory when it comes to his fights and he had an itchy feeling the UFC knew he was the one person ranked in the top 15 at lightweight who wouldn't turn down that opportunity. His opponent Salahdine Parnassse isn't a household name by any means but he held titles in two divisions while competing in KSW and the French fans definitely love and support him.

In fact, the fanbase in France adores Parnasse so much that as soon as the fight got announced, Hooker started getting bombarded with messages on social media including more than a few that came across as death threats. Now that might seem a little severe for a UFC fight but it really didn't bother Hooker all that much, especially knowing he'd get to keep those receipts for his post-fight celebration when he wins on Saturday.

“I like that,†Hooker told MMA Fighting. “Get your bits in before the fight. Hindsight is 20/20. Anyone can be right in retrospect. It happens to come back and shoot your shit. After the fight? Nah! Make your call. Get your Mystic Mac.â€

That said, Hooker admits that after he first spoke about the death threats coming from some French fans, he actually received more than a few messages welcoming him to the country wih enthusiasm that he accepted the matchup and the main event at UFC Paris.

“Since I did say that, I've had a lot of French fans reaching out to me and say that they're just excited for the fight and they're excited that I'm making the trip out there,†Hooker said. “I've had a lot of people just reach out and kind of apologize for the death threats and they're excited for me to come over and put on a show.

“I don't even feel like I'm walking into hostile territory. I feel like there will be a lot of people excited for the fight.â€

While death threats should always be taken seriously, Hooker isn't losing any sleep over those kinds of messages because ultimately his job comes down to one thing — beating Salahdine Parnasse at UFC Paris.

The fans who chose to write those nasty messages can yell, scream and boo him all they want once he walks out to the octagon but Hooker knows not a single one of them can actually help Parnasse in the fight.

“Whether they love me or hate me, I couldn't care less,†Hooker said. “I feed off the energy entirely. At the end of the day, there ain't nothing anybody can do about it. He could have 10 or 20,000 people in there who want to kill me.

“Ain't nothing they can do but shut the f*ck up and eat their popcorn and watch me beat their boy. That's all they've got in store.â€

Hooker also acknowledges that even though this is Parnasse's debut in the UFC, this is by far the biggest opportunity of his young career and that's going to put a lot of pressure on him.

Throughout his own UFC career, Hooker has felt the highest of highs and the lowest of lows so this kind of matchup is nothing new for him. But the same can't be said for Parnasse, who has never felt the bright lights and the intense scrutiny that comes along with headlining a major UFC card.

“He's the one out here with something to prove,†Hooker said. “I've just got to shut up this no-name kid. That's easy for me.â€

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

MMA

Dan Hooker calls Brian Ortega old while explaining quick UFC return

Published

2 hours ago

on

November 5, 2026

By

Dan Hooker calls Brian Ortega 'old' while explaining quick UFC return
Dan
Hooker was frustrated after his last defeat.

The New Zealander faced
Ultimate Fighting Championship debutant Salahdine
Parnasse in the main event of
UFC Paris this past September and lost via technical knockout
at 2:35 of the first round. Hooker is looking to make a quick
turnaround and is now scheduled to fight Brian
Ortega at
UFC Qatar on Nov. 21. “The Hangman†recently opened up about
why he's returning to action just 77 days after his last bout.

Dan Hooker says frustration after his Salahdine Parnasse loss
prompted him to accept Brian Ortega at UFC Qatar

Hooker said he was frustrated he couldn’t show his improvements
after a hard training camp for the Parnasse fight. He claims he
would've taken more time in between fights if he had gone to war
with the Frenchman for five rounds. While Hooker went down with the
body kick from Parnasse in the opening frame, he didn't suffer any
serious injuries, hence the short turnaround.

“When you just get out there and don’t really get to show anything,
that’s frustrating,†Hooker told Ariel Helwani. “I put in a really
hard training camp, made some pretty big improvements in my
consistency and training, and I just didn’t get to show it… Then I
saw Nolan was matched with Moicano, so I called my manager Ash and
said, ‘F*ck, surely I can beat Brian Ortega.' I was like, ‘F*ck,
he’s old as well. Surely, I can beat Brian Ortega.' The UFC liked
that fight, so I got it.â€

While Hooker (24-15) is on a three-fight skid, Ortega (16-5, 1 NC)
has lost four of his last five bouts.

Continue Reading

MMA

Tatiana Suarez reveals what she took away from past title fight loss to Zhang Weili

Published

12 hours ago

on

November 5, 2026

By

Tatiana Suarez reveals what she took away from past title fight loss to Zhang Weili
Trending:

UFC Edmonton Results: Mike Malott KO's Joaquin Buckley (Video)
Zuffa LLC

UFC star Tatiana Suarez has taken a look back at what she was able to learn from her title loss to Zhang Weili ahead of her return.

In early 2025, Tatiana Suarez fell to her first loss in professional mixed martial arts at the hands of Zhang Weili. Since then, however, she has done a pretty good job of rebuilding herself, with victories over Amanda Lemos and Loopy Godinez.

RELATED: Tatiana Suarez believes she is right back in title conversation after UFC 327

Ahead of her fight against Virna Jandiroba this weekend, Tatiana Suarez has been reflecting on what went down against Zhang Weili. Of course, a loss is always hard to take, but it can often help you become an even better version of yourself.

In an interview, Tatiana Suarez had the following to say on the matter.

Tatiana Suarez reflects on former title fight defeat

“I took a lot from that fight, obviously – um, I guess it's not obvious, because not everybody does that, but I'm sure you have to,†Suarez said. “There's just no way you don't take anything from a loss, you know? For me, it's helped me in a lot of ways mentally. Obviously, it's helped me understand things that I also have to improve on, and more so the mindset of it all. Up until that point, I've never faced any adversity in a fight. So, that was the first time I've ever had to face any type of adversity, and I never stopped coming. I always kept trying, so that's something to be said as well.

“So it does show me that I always just never quit. I'm never just going to be like, ‘OK, I'm done.' She hit me with some good shots, and I just kept coming forward. But I think more importantly, I just feel like being a skilled fighter and having the fight IQ is important when you have big fights like that. So, that's what I definitely learned out there as well is like being smarter and fighting smarter.â€

Quotes via MMA Junkie

Will Suarez compete for a UFC world title again? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, BJPENN Nation!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

Continue Reading

MMA

Dana White defends Dan Miragliotta over stand-up in Moicano vs. Nolan bout

Published

20 hours ago

on

November 5, 2026

By

Dana White defends Dan Miragliotta over stand-up in Moicano vs. Nolan bout
Dana
White has addressed veteran referee Dan Miragliotta's
controversial stand-up in the Renato
“Money†Moicano vs. Tom Nolan
bout.

Moicano suffered a third-round stoppage loss to Nolan at
UFC Vegas 123 on Oct. 31. However, the fight was marred by
controversy when Miragliotta stood the fighters up for inactivity
while Moicano had Nolan's back in the second round. While it's very
rare for a referee to intervene when a fighter has his opponent's
back, White defended Miragliotta's call.

Why Dana White believes Dan Miragliotta made the right
call

The
Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO says that, under the
ruleset, damage is the key factor in stand-ups, not holding
position. White notes that some grapplers can ride their opponent's
back for three rounds and says the referee is right to intervene if
the fighter in a dominant position isn't trying to land damage or
advance position.

“I don't think it's about dominant position,†White said during a
media scrum captured by TheMacLife. “It's about, are you doing
damage or not, trying to win the fight? Some of these guys are so
good, they can f*cking take your back and ride it out for three
rounds. The rules are, if you’re not doing damage or trying to
advance your position, or trying to win the fight, you get stood
up.â€

Continue Reading
Advertisement

OUR NEWSLETTER

Subscribe Us To Receive Our Latest News Directly In Your Inbox!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Trending