Kiwi UFC star Dan "Hangman" Hooker has explained his post fight call out of fellow fighter Paul Felder, following his victory over Jim Miller in Atlantic City last weekend.
Hooker, 28, defeated Miller just three minutes into the first round of his bout with Miller, with Felder acting as a sideline commentator for the event.
When asked about his next fight prospects, Hooker cooly responded to Felder, before politely challenging him.
"I want a ranked opponent next, and I just so happen to be standing across from a ranked opponent without a fight," Hooker said.
"So if you'll do me the honor next, we could get (UFC matchmaker) Sean (Shelby) to match it up."
To his credit, Felder accepted Hooker's proposal.
"I've been waiting for somebody to actually have some guts and stand here in front of me and say that they wanted to fight me," Felder said.
"So if Sean Shelby talks to me tonight and tells me that he wants me to fight you, you're a tough opponent, and I think you deserve someone higher ranked than that."
Speaking to 1 NEWS today, Hooker explained his respectful challenge, one that's earned him praise from across the mixed martial arts world.
"People are a bit used to the common trend of guys being a bit arrogant or calling people out disrespectfully," he said.
"It was a bit of fresh air, people can see that it is possible to promote a fight or match interesting fights without it being this negative thing - creating drama that's not there."
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