UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker isn’t playing games ahead of his UFC Qatar main event matchup with Arman Tsarukyan.

Top UFC lightweight contenders Dan Hooker and Arman Tsarukyan will collide in the upcoming UFC Qatar main event in a pivotal matchup in the division. The UFC Qatar main event winner could potentially earn the next title shot against UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria.

Tsarukyan and Hooker have been on each other’s nerves for years, and have gone back and forth on social media in recent months. Their bad blood adds to the intrigue of their UFC Qatar fight.

If things turn from verbal to physical between Hooker and Tsarukyan ahead of fight night, Hooker is prepared to lose a big payday in exchange for throwing hands with his upcoming opponent.

Dan Hooker warns Arman Tsarukyan against pre-UFC Qatar altercation

During a recent interview on The Ariel Helwani Show, Hooker warned Tsarukyan against a potential face-to-face confrontation ahead of UFC Qatar.

“Obviously there’s bad blood, I feel like since he’s first came into the UFC, he’s discredited me as a fighter and things that I’ve done,” Hooker said of Tsarukyan.

“That’s his own opinion, but there’s just been back-and-forth over the years, and so I’d love to get in there and fight him. Things that he’s done in the past; he’s just a lippy little rich kid that’s had everything handed to him in his life, and he thinks he can go around and if there’s a repeat of him walking up on Bobby Green, getting in his face before the fight, the fight is canceled.

“He doesn’t need the money from these UFC fights, does this for attention and likes. I fight to provide for my family.”

As of this writing, Tsarukyan hasn’t responded to Hooker’s remarks.

Hooker referenced a pre-fight altercation between Tsarukyan and Bobby Green, ahead of their separate fights at UFC Austin in 2023. Tsarukyan went on to knock out Beneil Dariush in the main event, while Green lost to Jalin Turner by knockout.

If Tsarukyan and Hooker are in close quarters ahead of UFC Qatar, things could escalate, resulting in a potential shakeup atop the card.