While it’s not on the horizon for either man, a fight pitting UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski versus teammate Dan Hooker could happen if “The Hangman” has a successful return to the division. And that possibility could put their coach Eugene Bareman in an awkward position he rather not think about.
A couple of months ago, the idea of Hooker (21-11) and Volkanovski (23-1) being in the same division seemed unlikely. Hooker was ranked in the lightweight top-10, he jujst scored a much-needed win in September, and was gearing up for a major matchup on short notice against surging Russian fighter Islam Makhachev at UFC 267.
However, things changed quickly when the New Zealander was submitted in less than two minutes, and soon after decided to undertake a test weight cut to reach the 145-pound division limit. Well, Hooker successfully made the weight and seemingly exercised the demons that dogged him when he competed at featherweight for the first five fights of his UFC career. Now, a move down in weight seems likely and Hooker even suggested last week he would love the “Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung to welcome him back to featherweight early in 2022.
Eugene Bareman really hopes to avoid a possible Alexander Volkanovski vs Dan Hooker fight at featherweight
Up until his June 2020 loss to current lightweight title challenger Dustin Poirier, Hooker had become a dominant force at lightweight. Winning seven of his first eight fights at 155-pounds, and scoring victories over talented competitors Gilbert Burns, and Paul Felder. If he can take that level of success down to featherweight, he could certainly be in the contender conversation quickly and make things very complicated for his head coach Eugene Bareman.
Bareman is the mastermind behind New Zealand powerhouse gym City Kickboxing. The place that helped build UFC stars Israel Adesanya, Kai Kara-France, Hooker, and Volkanovski. The respected coach still coaches both men and was asked during an appearance on “>Submission Radio how he would handle the situation if the conversation around a Volkanovski versus Hooker fight became serious down the road. And in an honest response, it seems Bareman hopes he never has to confront that scenario.
“As a coach you just don’t think about that, to be honest. It’s an odd circumstance to be in because, of course, you want both your guys to do well, but you kind of don’t want them to do well enough that they have to fight each other,” Bareman said.
“Which kind of goes against the principle of coaching people to be the best that they can be. It’s just a bridge that we’ll cross if we ever have to cross it. but I don’t put a lot of thought into that. It’s a strange one. You just get on with the business. If Dan’s at featherweight, the goal is to be the champion of the world. If Volk’s at featherweight, the goal is to retain being the best featherweight in the world. Which is strange, the two don’t really go together right?”
Volkanovksi successfully defended his title in September at UFC 266, beating Brian Ortega by unanimous decision. A trilogy matchup with former division titlist Max Holloway is likely to be his next booking in the first quarter or second quarter of 2022.
Do you think Hooker will have a run at featherweight that could lead to a clash with his long-time teammate Volkanovski?
