Dan Hooker's coaching team are confident the New Zealand UFC fighter will be back, despite his shock loss at the weekend.
NZ UFC lightweight Dan Hooker. Photo: Photosport
A contender in the star-studded lightweight division, Hooker suffered a first round technical knockout loss to American UFC newcomer Michael Chandler at UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi.
The dejected New Zealander removed his gloves and left them inside the cage after the defeat, a gesture which has come to signal retirement.
But one of Hooker's coaches at Auckland gym City Kickboxing, Mike Angove, believed the move came only out of frustration.
"He was just gutted, disappointed from his performance," Angove told Nathan Rarere on RNZ's First Up.
"He probably wanted to curl up into a ball and get out of there really quickly because it's a devastating [result] for him...
"You need to allow fighters to have the time to assess what they're doing and just go through that gamut of emotions because it's an incredibly personal thing, fighting.
"He'll be back, he'll still be fighting."
Hooker wasn't the only one left devastated by the result.
City Kickboxing is not only home to six UFC fighters, including middleweight world champion Israel Adesanya, but has become well know for it's team first values and tight knit culture.
Mike Angove (left) and Colonel Bob Sheridan. Photo: p
Angove said the loss for the man regarded as the "team captain" had hit hard for everyone at the Auckland gym.
"When he loses we all lose. There's no question, when any one of our fighters lose we feel it deeply.
"It was pretty emotional scenes amongst the coaching team, and that's across all our internal messaging as well. Although fighting is an incredibly personal sport, we are very much a team.
"When you're fighting at this highest level, this isn't just two guys having a scrap. This is the highest levels of the game. You can fumble the ball on the five-yard line and you only give away a try, but in fight sports you lose the entire [game]. It's a devastating thing."
That was amplified by the wait Hooker had to get home.
His spot in managed isolation in New Zealand was not free until February 21, with the two-week quarantine meaning he wouldn't be back with his wife and young daughter until early March.
"That's just the nature of the game, unfortunately, if you're a professional athlete who needs to travel to earn money," Angove said.
"We have to fit in with the MIQ system. It's not ideal but there are many people in dire situations who are much worse off than us and there are a lot of other professional athletes in similar scenarios.
"It makes it extremely difficult, it is extremely costly obviously, but it's what we need to do to keep our country safe.
"[This wait for him will be] difficult, particularly under losing circumstances, but there's no other way around it."
