Being a world-class fighter from outside of the United States has its challenges, especially when you have to prepare for a fight halfway around the world. However, it has become much easier.
This weekend, New Zealanders Dan Hooker and Israel Adesanya both fight during international fight week. In an interview with the Top Turtle MMA Podcast, Hooker talked about his pack of rowdy Kiwis is about to take over Vegas.
When asked about how he and Adesanya would be celebrating in Vegas should they both win, Hooker was honest about himself.
Dan Hooker is boring as hell, he said. Dan Hooker is going to be back in his hotel room, in bed, asleep.
That isn’t the case of all of his countrymen.
Israel Adesanya is going to wear his fur coat and his gold chain, no shirt underneath, and he’s gonna be in town kicking up a storm, said Hooker laughing. Probably partying for a week straight.
But before either of them take the stage, they plan on preparing at the Performance Institute, which has made fighting in the states loads easier for fighters who come from 19 hours away. Although Hooker isn’t one to enjoy the nightlife in Vegas, he knows how to get down in a training center.
My and my 30 teammates are coming there and we’re going to take it over, Hooker says of the Performance Institute. Damn, they got free food, they got a sauna.
After these 30 make their mark, the Performance Institute, the UFC, and possibly Vegas, may never be the same.
Author Daniel Vreeland is a co-founder of the Top Turtle Podcast, and a brown belt in Jiu-Jitsu at New England Submission Fighting in Amherst, Massachusetts.
