UFC Fight Night 43's Daniel Hooker got to the UFC by going straight to Joe Silva

Daniel Hooker is only a few hours away from the biggest fight of his career, and he expects a pretty big turnout from his hometown fans.

Hooker (10-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC), from Auckland, fights Ian Entwistle (8-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 43, the promotion’s debut in New Zealand. The card streams on UFC Fight Pass.

Hooker found his way to the UFC after the event had gone on sale, but despite that he’ll have his share of support.

“Hometown boy, and I only got on the card after it had been on sale,” Hooker told MMAjunkie Radio earlier this week. “So a lot of the tickets had sold out. But a few friends got in and snapped them up, so I’ll have a lot of support there. New Zealand crowds, you’re in for a treat. They’re pretty rowdy. New Zealand crowds, they go off. They just yell and swear really loud.”

Getting a win in his UFC debut would be a big accomplishment, naturally. But heretofore, perhaps the biggest coup of his career was just getting on the card.

Hooker had planned to go on a mini run and then start a campaign to get in the UFC. But when he heard about the UFC finally coming to Auckland, he changed his timeline.

“I asked a couple guys what I needed to do to get on there, and they said, ‘Social media man.’ Push it on your Twitter, your Facebook. I got a Twitter campaign. And then I didn’t really hear anything back,” Hooker said.

So when that failed, he just went straight to the one guy who could get things done: UFC matchmaker Joe Silva.

“At the end of the day, I just emailed Joe Silva myself and was like, ‘C’mon, bro – what’s the story?’” Hooker said. “He passed me on to Sean Shelby. I got two emails. He said, ‘Can you make ’45?’ I said, ‘Yup.’ He said, ‘Sweet. Here’s your opponent.’”

And with that, Hooker was in the UFC for a return to featherweight after a stint at lightweight.

He said the cut to 145 pounds this time was easier, he thinks because of the pressure he put on himself just from being in the UFC.

But at the end of the day, it was a timing thing for Hooker, who brings a five-fight winning streak into the fight – his first since this past August.

“This is a good time,” he said. “I took some time off, worked on my game and really got hungry. I’m in a really good mental state, and it’s really just perfect timing.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 43, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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