Dan Hooker likes the home advantage: “If Australia and New Zealand go to war, they’ll go to war together as the ANZACs”

Dan Hooker comes into UFC 325 with home court advantage, and he’s loving every minute of it.

Saturday’s highly anticipated return to The Land Down Under, coming from Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena, will be headlined by a lightweight clash between Hooker and knockout artist Benoit Saint-Denis.

Although he is from Auckland, New Zealand, the ‘Executioner’ views the Sydney fighting as a hometown fight, without all the hometown pressure.

“Yeah, I think this is a hometown fight, with no hometown pressure,” Hooker said MMA junkie. “The support here is absolutely incredible. When Australia and New Zealand go to war, they go to war together as the ANZACs, so it’s the same when we go up against the rest of the world… I got into this fight because it’s here in Sydney and it’s close to home, and I wanted to be part of this card.

“I knew Volk was the main event and I wanted to get involved and just be a part of it, and it was incredible to be here in Sydney. I’m really glad I did it.”

Dan Hooker expects Saint-Denis to wrestle in the co-main event match

Hooker has been a winner in three of his last four and is currently ranked sixth in the lightweight division. He previously reeled off three straight wins before suffering a first-round defeat to No. 1 Arman Tsarukyan in November.

As for his opponent, Saint-Denis has knocked out his last three opponents, including an epic 16-second knockout of Beneil Dariush at UFC 322 last year.

“Smart money would say he’s going to try to take me down,” Hooker said of Saint-Denis. “Fights are generally dictated by who can press who against the cage or who can stay in the open. I obviously want to stay in the open and keep him on his feet.”

“He wants to press me 100 percent against the cage and get some control time and take the fight where he has the advantage. He’s a smart man. I don’t look at him as a stupid man. I don’t think he’s going to come all the way out here to stand in the pocket and throw punches with me. I don’t think that’s a very smart move, and I look at him as a very smart man.”