Fans of UFC lightweight Dan Hooker can expect to see a different version of 'The Hangman' entering the Octagon this weekend - in more ways than one.
On Sunday (NZ time), Hooker will touch gloves with rising American Jalin Turner at UFC 290 in Las Vegas. The pair were originally scheduled to square off in March, until a broken hand forced the Aucklander to withdraw from the bout.
Despite being waylaid, Hooker has had a productive eight months, both on and off the mat. The injury hasn't kept him away from City Kickboxing, where he's been as regular a feature as ever, albeit with some obvious limitations.
He's also seized the opportunity to add some ink, having both legs and his back heavily tattooed, while adding a peroxide blonde dome to complete his mini-makeover.
Both were completely impulsive, Hooker admits. His back tattoo came about simply as a means to kill some time after his return flight from the Gold Coast, when a family holiday was cancelled due to Cyclone Gabrielle.
Eager to even out his coverage once back in New Zealand, he booked in to have his legs done as well.
While Hooker originally had no rationale behind his spur-of-the-moment decisions, with the benefit of reflection, he admits there could be some subconscious parallels drawn with what he described as a minor reinvention as a fighter over the past year.
"I feel like I've made some big developments skillwise, a big development in my progression as a martial artist recently," Hooker told Newshub.
"Maybe it's a visual expression or external expression of where I feel like I'm at it in terms of my fighting... not necessarily a fresh start, because I'm not looking to run from anything.
"I'm looking to build on all of the experience. I feel like everything's coming together.
"Every tough challenge, every difficult time, every lesson I've learned from those hard experiences is just culminating at the moment."
Those moments Hooker refers to are all part of the rollercoaster he's ridden over the past three years, as he hovered around the cusp of the lightweight division's elite.
Ranked as high as No.4, Hooker has been agonisingly close to the UFC title conversation, but a torrid schedule has seen him fight some of the promotion's elite - including reigning champion Islam Makhachev - and come up short, often in brutal fashion.
Since his classic win over Paul Felder in the Auckland headliner in March 2020, Hooker (22-12) has dropped four of his six contests.
With his re-invigorating knockout win over Claudio Puelles in his last fight at last November's UFC 281 in New York City - where he earned his first finish since 2019 - Hooker believes he's trending towards and beyond the best version of himself.
He hasn't unlocked any secret formula. His aforementioned all-round improvements have been a byproduct of routine, exemplified by the two world champions - Israel Adesanya and Alex Volkanovski - he shares mats with on a near daily basis.
"That's the funny thing about it," he explained. "Everyone's like, 'What's new? What's changed? Are you doing cryotherapy or something?'
"Ask any successful person or hyper-successful sportsman. I'm lucky enough to be surrounded by two of the best fighters in the world and if you ask them what's the secret to success, they will tell you there's no secret.
"It's just consistent hard work over a long period of time and that's what I've been doing. I've been consistently working hard over my lifetime.
"I feel like things are coming together. All of that experience and all of those lessons are kind of coming to fruition, which is nice."
Hooker points to his dominant performance against Puelles as a prime example of what he's capable of when all of the pieces click into place, when the accumulation of his devastating kick-based offensive wore his opponent into submission.
"That's just proving externally what I know I'm capable of within," he said. "I wasn't surprised by how that went.
"I just followed the instruction of my coaches, had a great preparation and that's what happens when we follow that recipe that has led to so much success for our team.
"Now I'm following that recipe and I can just focus on being a fighter - going out there and performing and executing on the night."
Hooker will put those upgrades to the test against Turner, whose difficulty in finding an opponent speaks volumes for the danger he presents. Just ask Hooker's teammate Brad Riddell, who was felled via first-round submission by the American last July.
His five-fight win streak came to an end against Mateusz Gamrot, who was a late replacement for Hooker on the UFC 285 card, losing by split decision in a contest the Kiwi believes Turner would have "handily" won, if he'd had a full fight camp to prepare for the very different kind of threat the Pole poses.
A win over a fighter of 11th-ranked Turner's pedigree would immediately lift Hooker (currently ranked 12th) into the top 10 and back on track for another run at the belt.
"That's back in the mix. I feel like that's undoubted - that answers a heck of a lot of questions."
The rangey Turner is cut from a similar cloth as Hooker, with an eight-point striking arsenal the basis of his offence. At at 1.91m, he'll present the rare occasion when the Aucklander won't have a size and reach edge.
Hooker believes his biggest advantage over the 13-6 Californian will be his composure, born from his wealth of experience under the bright lights, where he's learned the kind of lessons that can only come from being in the trenches - and 'The Hangman' has been through some legendary wars.
Those have helped Hooker cultivate a level of unwavering self-belief that's been the cornerstone to his longevity in arguably the UFC's most unforgiving divisions.
"My level of composure gained through experience is unmatched. It's something that needs to be respected... someone that's danced under those lights before, someone's who's been in those situations.
"That's the funny thing about it. People say, 'Man, you've lost to this guy and that guy. How do you convince yourself that you can beat this guy?'
"That's the true blessing of having the ride that I've had and having like the tumultuous past that I have.
"I have a pretty ready formula - a mental approach to get myself back to believing that I'm bullet-proof, to believe that I'm unbeatable when I know that I'm not.
"I have evidence of the contrary, but I can still get myself to the point where I truly believe that I'm unbeatable."
Any questions about Hooker entering some sort of career twilight need not be asked. Now 15 years into his career, the Aucklander's fire for the sport burns as fiercely as ever.
"I love this, I absolutely love it. I enjoy it, I relish it.
"I love being here for fight week. I love all the fans coming in to support... how excited all the media is to talk and get an insight.
"It's such a special thing to go out there and have 10,000... 20,000... 50,000 people just screaming at you. Not many people have the opportunity to feed off that much energy or to experience something like that.
"There's nothing else that I would rather be doing."
