Dan Hooker Was Hesitant Fighting in US Amid COVID-19; Trusts UFC's Procedures

UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker said he's grown "confident" in the promotion's safety measures amid the coronavirus pandemic after initially being "hesitant" to accept a fight in the United States.

Hooker, a New Zealand native, is scheduled to face Dustin Poirier in the main event of the UFC on ESPN 12 card Saturday night. He discussed the situation with TMZ Sports ahead of the show, which will take place from UFC's APEX facility in Las Vegas.

"I feel comfortable," he said. "I've been here for three days, and soon as we arrived we got tested. Getting tested again [Friday], we get temperature checks every morning, and they got security at every single door making sure that people can't come and go. I'm very confident in the precautions that the UFC has in place."

The U.S. has recorded the most total cases (over 2.5 million) and deaths (over 127,000) in the world because of COVID-19, per Worldometer. New Zealand has reported just 1,522 cases and 22 deaths.

"We have no cases actually in New Zealand, and then coming over here, I was a little bit hesitant to know about the safety precautions," Hooker told TMZ.

The UFC returned to action May 9 after a two-month hiatus because of the pandemic. It became the first major sports organization in the country to resume full operations with a series of cards in Florida before moving to the APEX facility at the end of May.

"Health and safety isn't something that just popped up with the coronavirus with us. It's something we think about every weekend," UFC President Dana White told CNBC last month.

Saturday's card will be the eighth since the MMA promotion resumed live events, and it's set to debut "Fight Island," a newly constructed location for international fights in the United Arab Emirates, in July.

Meanwhile, Hooker has won seven of his past eight fights to bring his career record to 20-8 heading into Saturday's clash with Poirier. The surge has allowed him to reach fifth in the UFC's lightweight rankings, two spots behind his opponent in the main event.

Poirier is a -220 favorite in Saturday's fight, per Caesars Palace.

An upset would push Hooker into the conversation for his first UFC title fight.