Dan Hooker respects 'real fighter' Bobby Green more than 99.9 percent of other fighters

Dan Hooker thinks Bobby Green is one of the few real fighters left in the sport.

Lightweights Hooker (23-12 MMA, 13-8 UFC) and Green (31-14-1 MMA, 12-9-1 UFC) meet in the co-main event of a UFC Fight Night card Dec. 2 at Moody Center in Austin, Texas. Both fighters got their wish after they expressed interest in a fight against each other.

Green is riding plenty of momentum after back-to-back finishes of former interim champion Tony Ferguson and streaking contender Grant Dawson. Hooker has rebounded, himself, in impressive fashion with two wins over Claudio Puelles and Jalin Turner and looks forward to throwing down with Green.

“He’s got a lot of good skills,” Hooker told Combat TV. “I respect Bobby Green probably more than I respect 99.9 percent of the other fighters in the UFC. That’s a real fighter. There’s not many of us left, so it’s an exciting fight. I rate his skills quite highly. It looks very unique, but it’s just a lot of different high-level stuff all happening at the same time. I respect his skills a lot.”

Despite being the co-headliner, Hooker and Green are slated for five rounds. “The Hangman” doesn’t seem too interested in a 25-minute fight.

“The cheeky buggers said it was a main event – sweet: five rounds. And then they switched it to co-main and they reckon it’s still five rounds,” Hooker said. “Check with all my old bosses: I don’t do overtime. Nah, we’ll see. I think it’s just a bit of a misunderstanding.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for the UFC Fight Night event.