Dan Hooker, 36, says Brian Ortega, 35, is 'old': 'Surely I can beat Brian Ortega'

Hooker returns at UFC Qatar on 21 November, 77 days after a first-round TKO defeat to Salahdine Parnasse, and says frustration drove the quick turnaround.

Dan Hooker says part of his thinking in taking Brian Ortega at UFC Qatar is that Ortega is "old as well". Hooker is 36 and Ortega is 35, according to their UFC profiles.

Hooker returns just 77 days after losing to Salahdine Parnasse by TKO at 2:35 of the first round in the UFC Paris main event in September. He told Ariel Helwani the short gap came from not getting to show his work. "When you just get out there and don't really get to show anything, that's frustrating," Hooker said. "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."

Hooker made his call after seeing Tom Nolan booked against Renato Moicano. "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," he said.

Nolan stopped Moicano in the third round of the UFC Vegas 123 main event. Two planned Moicano rematches with Ortega, at UFC 326 and UFC 331, were called off when Ortega withdrew, and Moicano has said Ortega against Hooker will be "the worst fight in the UFC".

Hooker (24-15) is on a three-fight skid, and Ortega (16-5, 1 NC) has lost four of his last five. "I feel like I can beat Brian Ortega," Hooker also told Submission Radio, in an interview that took aim at Charles Oliveira and the BMF belt.

The fight is at the ABHA Arena in Doha, where Ortega makes his UFC lightweight debut.

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