Early career Hooker made his professional mixed martial arts debut in March 2009. He fought primarily in his native New Zealand and amassed a record of 10–4 before joining the
Ultimate Fighting Championship. Dan is also a professional
kickboxer with a 9–1–3 record, winning the King In The Ring Middleweight Kickboxing Championship and WKBF X-Rules Welterweight Championship. Hooker also has a 3–2 submission grappling record. On 18 October 2009 he took part in the ICNZ Contender Series 1 No-Gi Submission Wrestling Tournament. He beat Thomas Kwok and Bass Khou by guillotine choke and lost to Pumau Campbell on points. He also competed in the New Zealand 2011 No-Gi Nationals, in the Advanced under 77 kg / 170 lbs division, he beat Paul Faavaoga in the first round and lost to LJ Stevenson in the second round. He has also competed in a heavyweight fight, for which he weighed in at 86 kg / 189 lbs, against Mark Creedy, winning by knockout in the second round. He also competed in a heavyweight tag team kickboxing match against Antz Nansen. Hooker has been coaching MMA since 2008, spending time as head coach at
City Kickboxing gym in
Auckland. In mid 2018 Hooker opened his own gym Combat Academy in
Ellerslie, Auckland, a state-of-the-art gym that included a full-sized boxing ring and an octagon.
Ultimate Fighting Championship 2014 Hooker made his promotional debut against fellow newcomer
Ian Entwistle on 28 June 2014 at
UFC Fight Night 43. Hooker won the back-and-forth fight via TKO in the first round. Hooker faced
Maximo Blanco on 20 September 2014 at
UFC Fight Night 52. Hooker lost the fight via unanimous decision.
2015 Hooker faced
Hatsu Hioki on 10 May 2015 at
UFC Fight Night 65. He won the fight via knockout due to a combination of head kick and punches in the second round. With this win, he became the first man to knock out Hioki in a MMA fight. The win also earned Hooker his first
Performance of the Night bonus award. Hooker next faced
Yair Rodríguez on 3 October 2015 at
UFC 192. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.
2016 In April 2016, Hooker competed in the
2016 Tiger Muay Thai Tryouts in
Phuket, and won a place on the professional fight team, along with teammate
Dave Leduc. Hooker next faced
Mark Eddiva on 20 March 2016 at
UFC Fight Night 85. He won the fight with a high-elbow mounted guillotine choke in the first round. Hooker faced
Jason Knight on 27 November 2016 at
UFC Fight Night 101. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
2017 Moving up from
featherweight to
lightweight, Hooker fought
Ross Pearson on 11 June 2017 at
UFC Fight Night 110. He trained locally in
City Kickboxing in
Newton, Auckland. He won the fight via knockout in the second round. The win also earned Hooker his second
Performance of the Night bonus award. Hooker faced
Marc Diakiese on 30 December 2017 at
UFC 219 He won the fight via guillotine choke submission in the third round.
2018 Hooker faced
Jim Miller on 21 April 2018 at
UFC Fight Night 128. He won the fight via knockout in round one. Hooker faced
Gilbert Burns on 7 July 2018 at
UFC 226. He won the fight via knockout in round one. Hooker faced
Edson Barboza on 15 December 2018 at
UFC on Fox 31. Hooker lost the fight via TKO.
2019 Hooker faced
James Vick on 20 July 2019 at
UFC on ESPN 4. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. This win earned him the
Performance of the Night bonus. Hooker faced former
UFC title challenger
Al Iaquinta on 6 October 2019 at
UFC 243. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
2020 Hooker faced
Paul Felder on 23 February 2020 at
UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. Hooker. Hooker won the fight by a controversial split decision. Out of 17 media members, 12 scored it for Felder, and only 4 for Hooker. This fight earned him a
Fight of the Night award. Hooker faced returning UFC title challenger
Dustin Poirier on 27 June 2020 at
UFC on ESPN: Poirier vs. Hooker. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. This contest earned him the
Fight of the Night award. This bout was widely considered one of the greatest fights of the year, due its back-and-forth bloody exchanges.
2021 Hooker faced former
three-time Bellator MMA lightweight champion and UFC newcomer
Michael Chandler at
UFC 257 on 24 January 2021. He lost the fight via technical knockout in the first round. After the bout, Hooker placed his gloves in the middle of the octagon as a sign of retirement. However, he then clarified that after reconsideration, he would not retire from the sport. Hooker faced
Nasrat Haqparast on 25 September 2021 at
UFC 266. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Hooker faced
Islam Makhachev as a short notice replacement for
Rafael Dos Anjos at
UFC 267. He lost the bout via submission due to a kimura in round one.
2022 Hooker faced
Arnold Allen in a featherweight bout on 19 March 2022 at
UFC Fight Night 204. He lost the fight via technical knockout in the first round. Hooker faced
Claudio Puelles on 12 November 2022 at
UFC 281. He won the fight via technical knockout in the second round.
2023 Hooker was scheduled to face
Jalin Turner on 4 March 2023 at
UFC 285. However, Hooker was forced to withdraw from the event citing a hand injury, and he was replaced by
Mateusz Gamrot. Hooker faced
Jalin Turner on 8 July 2023 at
UFC 290. At the weigh-ins Turner weighed in at 158 pounds, 2 pounds over the non-title lightweight limit. As a result, the bout proceeded as a catchweight and Turner was fined 20% of his fight purse, which went to Hooker. In a back and forth bout, Hooker came out victorious via split decision. Hooker was scheduled to face
Bobby Green on 2 December 2023 at
UFC on ESPN 52. However, the week before the event, Hooker withdrew due to injury, and was replaced by
Jalin Turner.
2024 Hooker fought former
KSW Lightweight Champion and
KSW Featherweight Champion Mateusz Gamrot on 18 August 2024 at
UFC 305. He won the fight by split decision. 8 out of 17 media outlets scored the bout for Hooker. This fight earned him another
Fight of the Night award.
2025 Hooker was scheduled to face former
UFC Interim Lightweight Champion Justin Gaethje on 8 March 2025 at
UFC 313. However, Hooker had to withdraw from the bout due to a hand injury, and was replaced by
Rafael Fiziev. Hooker faced
Arman Tsarukyan in the main event on 22 November 2025 at
UFC Fight Night 265. He lost the fight via an arm-triangle choke submission in the second round.
2026 Hooker faced
Benoît Saint Denis in the co-main event on 1 February 2026 at
UFC 325. He lost the fight by technical knockout in the second round. == Personal life ==