DAN HOOKER RECEIVES DEATH THREATS AHEAD OF PARNASSE FIGHT

The UFC announced that Dan Hooker would face Salahdine Parnasse at Accor Arena in Paris on 5 September. Hooker, a New Zealand fighter, stated in an interview that he has received death threats from French fans following the announcement. He described the threats as "outrageous" and noted that people have written to him in French expressing wishes that he would die. Hooker suggested the volume and intensity of threats differs from his previous bout against BSD, another French fighter.

Hooker previously fought BSD at UFC 325 and stated beforehand that he would not lose to a Frenchman, though he later described BSD as "the nicest bloke" and acknowledged that mind games were difficult given BSD's respectful demeanour. Hooker indicated that BSD's supporters may not have responded similarly to his pre-fight comments. The reason Parnasse's supporters have sent death threats remains unclear, as Hooker has not made comparable public statements about Parnasse or French fighters generally ahead of this bout.

Other UFC fighters have reported receiving threats from fans in similar circumstances. Aljamain Sterling disclosed in 2021 that he received death threats from Russian fans after winning the bantamweight title against Petr Yan when Yan was disqualified for an illegal knee in their first fight at UFC 259. Chael Sonnen also reported receiving death threats from Brazilian fans following his public criticism of Anderson Silva.