“I made this fight happen. I chased this fight,” Hooker told the Herald.
“I just knew that no one else would fight him. A lot of the division’s avoiding the guy. I just wanted to fight him… I feel like he’s the best guy. I feel like he’s the most skilful guy, and he’s the guy that gets me to where I want to go.”
Hooker comes into the bout on a three-fight winning streak, but having not fought in more than a year due to injury.
Tsarukyan finds himself in a similar position, winning his last four appearances in the octagon but having not fought since last April. The 29-year-old was scheduled to fight for the title at UFC 311 in January. However, he suffered a back injury and pulled out a day before the event.
Assessing what Tsarukyan brings to the octagon, Hooker said the Armenian “plays the sport”.
“He just doesn’t take a lot of damage and he’s good at winning fights and controlling some positions that he’s really good at,” Hooker said.
“He’s good at winning fights, he’s athletic, he’s technically sound. He doesn’t take a lot of risk, he doesn’t expose himself to a lot of danger, and that’s what a smart fighter does.
“That’s what a skilled martial artist does, is hit and not get hit and play the sport.”
They’re the sort of bouts that excite Hooker.
When drawn against top-level opposition, Hooker generally brings the best of himself – as shown in highlight-reel bouts against Dustin Poirier, Paul Felder, Jalin Turner and Mateusz Gamrot.
“If I fight someone that I feel like I’m better than, I kind of fall asleep at the wheel, or you stoop to their level,” he said.
“I like getting in firefights. I like getting in brawls. I like putting on exciting back-and-forth fights, so even if I’m fighting someone and they’re rubbish, then I’ll stoop to their level to make it a good fight or an exciting fight for the fans.
“Whereas if you just put me with someone that’s better than me, then I will rise to their level, you know what I mean? It brings out the best of me, so I’ll rise to their level.”
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.
