Dan Hooker

About

Daniel Preston Hooker (born 13 February 1990) is a New Zealand professional mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. He currently competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Hooker was the King in the Ring Middleweight Kickboxing Champion and WKBF X-Rules Welterweight Champion. As of 11 July 2026, he is #12 in the Meta UFC lightweight rankings.

Hooker was born in Auckland, New Zealand, into a family of partial Māori (Ngāti Maniapoto) descent. He grew up playing both codes of rugby throughout his schooling and was introduced to mixed martial arts by a friend after leaving school.

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…