Hooker: 'Arman Tsarukyan is the path to the title'

'Arman Tsarukyan is the path to the title. It's the path to becoming a champion. It's the path to being the best fighter.

This fight excites me because everyone thinks he is much better than me. That's why I'm so happy about the fight with him. Any successful action from my side, and he looks ridiculous, because everyone calls him a super-athlete, a title contender, that he should beat Ilia Topuria, that they are hiding the champion from him. That's his story. And now imagine he loses to Dan Hooker, a guy from New Zealand who has a third of his fights as losses. I think he has something to prove in this fight, and it's a tough situation for a fighter'.