Kiwi Dan Hooker is far from done in mixed martial arts, despite speculation he had retired.
The UFC lightweight suffered a brutal knockout loss to American Michael Chandler at UFC 257 at Abu Dhabi last month - the first - first round loss of his career.
After the fight, the City Kickboxing captain left his gloves in the cage - a traditional combat sports sign of retirement.
But Hooker has cleared up the confusion, saying he was just frustrated in a moment of weakness.
Speaking to Submission Radio, the 30-year-old says he will be back, once he licks his wounds.
"I was frustrated,” Hooker says. “It was sheer frustration and disappointment.
"At that moment, I was done with the sport, but you get back to the hotel and you figure out that you're not good at anything else, and you move on.
"This is a sport I have been following and doing my entire adult life. I wasn't rolling around in depression - it just is what it is."
The loss is a legitimate career setback for ‘Hangman’, bumping him out of the top five rankings and making his next fight a potential must-win.
Who and when is a long way from the thoughts of the 16-fight Octagon veteran, who won't return to New Zealand until February 21.
"I'm the first person to call out someone when it makes sense,” says Hooker. “It doesn't make sense right now and I'm not even thinking about who I fight next right now.
"That will come when I am back in the gym, and I am ready to fight and get back in the cage."
In analysing the loss to Chandler, Hooker offers no excuses. Instead, the Aucklander acknowledges mistakes he made, due to the offensive work of his opponent.
"He [Chandler] baited me perfectly, full credit to him. I zigged when I should have zagged.
"Fighting is a mixture of thinking and your reactions - a balance. I felt calm and could see everything.
“I felt sharp, and relied on my reactions and instinct to avoid that punch, but they let me down. It was an obvious error and a costly mistake.
"There are a million things I could have done that could have changed that moment from a technical standpoint to prevent that from happening - but it did, so what can you do? Nothing.
“I can't go back in time and change something - I don't have a time machine."
Hooker is keen to take stock and spend some time with his family after his one-month "holiday" in Dubai, while he awaits his MIQ voucher date.
But the break from fighting has a silver lining, allowing Hooker a chance to experience a training camp with his teammates later in the year.
Israel Adesanya, Kai Kara-France and Carlos Ulberg have all been booked for UFC 259 on March 7 at Las Vegas, while fellow CKB prospect Brad Riddell and featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski are both likely to feature at UFC 260 three weeks later.
Hooker could resync his fighting schedule with his teammates before his next bout.
"It's pretty cool watching those guys get on the same card, and they are all training as a team and in it together.
"That's something, for the last year, I have missed. It'll be cool to jump back in sync with Israel, Kai, Volk, Brad and the rest of the boys.
"It'll work out. They bang these fights out in March and it'll sync up for us timeline-wise after that.”
For now, Hooker is enjoying his sojourn in Dubai, which is relatively COVID-19 free.
"Not many people get to get away in this current climate - Dubai is kind of like New Zealand right now, but with masks in public.
"It's pretty open for the most part, so I'll try to enjoy myself."
