Dan Hooker dedicates his UFC 266 victory to late teammate Fau Vake

Dan Hooker emerged victorious in his fight against Nasrat Haqparast in the prelims of UFC 266. The New Zealander later uploaded a post on Twitter dedicating his win to his deceased friend and teammate Fau Vake.

Kickboxer Fau Vake passed away in May after suffering critical injuries in an assault. Current middleweight champion Israel Adesanya also posted a tribute on Twitter to Vake after his win against Marvin Vettori at UFC 263.

Hooker’s fight with Haqparast went the full distance of 15 minutes. ‘The Hangman’ dominated in a unanimous decision victory. The three judges scored the contest 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26 in Hooker’s favor.

Dan Hooker calls out Beneil Dariush in his UFC 266 post-fight interview

“You’re a coward if you duck me!”

A final parting shot from ???????????? @DanTheHangman as he calls his next shot! #UFC266

“You’re a coward if you duck me!”

A final parting shot from ???????????? @DanTheHangman as he calls his next shot! #UFC266 https://t.co/oVFAf2dFFh

After breaking his two-fight skid in the lightweight division at UFC 266, Dan Hooker called out fellow 155-pound contender Beneil Dariush for a fight.

“Hey, I heard Dariush is looking for a fight. I am your man, friend. Whenever you want to go! You’re a coward if you duck me,” said Hooker.

Dariush is currently on an impressive seven-fight win streak in the lightweight division. His streak includes wins over Tony Ferguson, Drew Dober and Carlos Diego Ferreira. The 32-year-old is currently ranked No.3 in the UFC lightweight rankings.

During the UFC 266 post-fight press conference, Dan Hooker was asked whether he would be interested in fighting one of the Diaz brothers. ‘The Hangman’ responded by saying:

“Um, it feels like it’s chasing unicorns. I’m waiting for their fight. To be honest, my priority is the title. If that fight came to fruition, I would one hundred percent take that fight, but my eyes are firmly fixed on the title. Anything that comes outside of that can come, but that gold belt around my waist is, there’s nothing that’s gonna stop me from getting my hands on it,” said Dan Hooker.

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Hooker had previously expressed interest in fighting Nate Diaz after the Stockton native’s fight against Leon Edwards at UFC 263.

Watch our exclusive interview with Dustin ‘The Diamond’ Poirier right here!