Dan Hooker details hand injury that forced him out of UFC 313

An injury during sparring forced Dan Hooker out of the UFC 313 co-main event.

Hooker (24-12) was scheduled to No. 3 ranked Justin Gaethje (25-5) in the UFC 313 co-main event on March 8 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas but was forced out of the fight due to injury. 

During an appearance on Sky Sport New Zealand, Hooker opened up about the injury and having to back out of the biggest fight of his career.  

“One of the paws is not doing too well,” Hooker said. “I was sparring last night, just as I do, just letting some hooks go, just throwing some bombs down range, and I just caught one of the boys on the top of the dome with my knuckle. I don’t think too much of it, but they sent me off to get a CT scan. Had a little CT scan, and they told me my hand is fractured.

“So yeah, I obviously still would fight (laughs), but with the medicals they squeeze your hands, so we’ll see how it all plays out. We’ll see if we can kick this fight down the road, or we’ll just wait and see.”

Hooker is ranked No. 6 in the lightweight division and a win over Gaethje would have placed him squarely in title contention. 

“It’s unfortunate that it was this close,” Hooker said. “Obviously gutted for all the fans that I know that were excited for this fight. That’s probably the main thing, I think. The Lords of War were not happy, and they took it away from you.”