UFC star Dan Hooker slams Duel Arena, praises "genius" Dillon Danis, Mike Perry, and Brandon Jenkins
UFC fan-favorite Dan Hooker has slammed Duel Arena amid the outrage surrounding its inaugural hybrid combat sports event.
Dan Hooker has directed some NSFW criticism at Duel Arena, an upstart combat sports organization by online casino and sportsbook DuelBet.
Hooker also praised Dillon Danis, Mike Perry, and Brandon Jenkins for the benefits he believes they achieved from Duel Arena.
Dan Hooker jibes at Duel Arena; proceeds to laud Dillon Danis, Mike Perry, as well as Brandon Jenkins
A much-awaited welterweight mixed martial arts match between Mike Perry and Dillon Danis was booked to headline Duel Arena 1 at the Kia Center on Perry's home turf of Orlando, Florida, on August 29.
Nevertheless, right toward the end of fight week, Danis was confirmed to have withdrawn. The replacement roped in was Brandon Jenkins, a veteran fighter who's previously fought in the UFC, PFL, and even MVP MMA.
Pandemonium ensued, as Danis traded insults with the official Duel Arena social media handles.
The Duel Arena X handle posted an image of Danis from the Duel Arena 1 event's poster, albeit with a homophobic slur apparently spray-painted on his aforesaid image. Danis fired back at them with a post, in which he seemed to cast aspersions on the organization's ability to draw fan interest and generate revenues.
The Duel Arena X handle and other social media also appeared to jibe at Danis and his mother, Nikki Carpiniello, claiming that she'd flown in for Duel Arena 1. They also claimed to have hired her as a special ring girl, whilst posting an image of her that many netizens deemed to be risque and disrespectful.
On that note, combat sports journalist Ben Davis made an X post, joining many other social media users in questioning whether a professional organization would make posts of that ilk, via its official handles nonetheless.
UFC lightweight star Dan Hooker reacted to Davis's X post and took aim at Duel Arena. The fan-favorite MMA fighter made an NSFW jibe at Duel Arena. Moreover, he suggested that Mike Perry and Brandon Jenkins, who competed in the Duel Arena 1 headliner, would get paid.
As a result of Dillon Danis’ withdrawal from tomorrow’s Duel Arena event, Mike Perry is getting a 50% purse cut, I’m told.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) August 28, 2026
Honestly, I have never heard of that.
It's noteworthy that Perry, after Danis's pullout, asserted that he'd taken a pay cut due to the replacement opponent, Jenkins, not being as famous as Danis. On his part, "Platinum" affirmed that he didn't want to disappoint his fans, which is why he agreed to compete despite losing out on pay. Also, Uncrowned's Ariel Helwani reported that Perry's pay was only 50 percent of what he was originally supposed to earn.
Well, Hooker alluded to Danis's ability to pique fan interest despite not competing as frequently as one would like and having pulled out of multiple high-profile fights. The New Zealander indicated that "El Jefe" intelligently used Duel Arena to procure publicity for himself but didn't fight.
The UFC staple wrote, "The only dumb c**ts in the whole situation are duel haha Mike and Jenkins got paid, Danis sharp as ever used them for clout, genius imo."
The only dumb cunts in the whole situation are duel haha Mike and Jenkins got paid, Danis sharp as ever used them for clout, genius imo. https://t.co/2T2XteT58l
— Dan Hangman Hooker (@danthehangman) August 30, 2026
Dan Hooker faces Salahdine Parnasse at UFC Paris; Dillon Danis, Mike Perry, and Brandon Jenkins eye notable matches, respectively
Dan Hooker has been a prominent member of the UFC roster for over a decade and is currently looking to break a two-fight skid. The Kiwi is booked to face former two-division KSW champion and UFC newcomer Salahdine Parnasse in a lightweight showdown, which will headline UFC Paris on September 5.
On the other hand, Dillon Danis, who seemed to cite an arm injury as the reason behind his pullout from Duel Arena, is expected to face UFC star Arman Tsarukyan in a freestyle wrestling match. They'll clash for the inaugural RAF middleweight crossover title at RAF 14 on October 23. The much-awaited event was recently shifted from October 3 to October 23.
Furthermore, Mike Perry suffered a shoulder-injury-induced first-round TKO loss against Brandon Jenkins at Duel Arena on August 29. A bare-knuckle boxing icon, Perry would be eyeing recovery from the same and an imminent BKFC comeback. As for Jenkins, he's called for a fight against Nate Diaz next.
