At UFC San Antonio this past weekend, the first nine fights of the evening went down to the judges’ decision. Then up stepped Dan Hooker. Half way through the first round, Hooker delivered a knockout punch on James Vick, earning him a Performance of the Night bonus.

The New Zealand lightweight hadn’t fought since last December, when he lost via a TKO in a brutal fight against Edson Barboza Jr.. And after the fight, ‘The Hangman’ told the media that it was good to get back in the win column.

“That meant a lot to me, man. That was probably the most satisfying win of my career.

“I’m happy that I got to put on a show for the fans, regardless that they were booing me before the fight. I got to turn them around a bit with the old ‘you don’t mess with Texas’ [comment]. I’ve had a lot of people were saying that to me all week.”

And with such a clinical performance, the 29 year old feels like he’s back where he belongs and ready to face a top ten opponent next.

“I feel like I get another shot. I feel like I’m back where I left off. I want a big name fighter. I want a top ten guy. If they’re coming down to Melbourne, they need to sell some tickets. Put Dan Hooker on the card against a top ten fighter, I feel like that makes a lot of sense and that sells a lot of tickets.

“I feel like Iaquinta’s the one that makes sense. That name definitely stands out to me. Yeah, Iaquinta, October 5th, meet me in Australia. Get him on a plane.”

UFC 243 goes down on October 5th, with Robert Whittaker vs Israel Adesanya in the main event. And although the venue and location are yet to be confirmed by the UFC, it is thought that it will take place at the Marvel Stadium, in Melbourne, Australia.

Iaquinta is coming off of a loss to ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone at UFC Ottawa, in May. Prior to that, ‘Raging Al’ beat Kevin Lee, via unanimous decision last December.

Would you like to see Dan Hooker vs Al Iaquinta?

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