Dan Hooker calls out Tony Ferguson for UFC clash: 'I'll smash ya face in'

Dan Hooker is seeming ploying a return to the UFC lightweight division, and Tony Ferguson is on his radar.

Dan Hooker seems to be plotting a return to the UFC’s lightweight division, and Tony Ferguson is on his radar.

Hooker (21-12 MMA, 11-8 UFC) made it clear Tuesday on social media he would be ready to throw down with the former interim UFC champ, threatening to put some major damage on Ferguson (25-7 MMA, 15-5 UFC) if they were to share the octagon (via Twitter):

You wana play ball?
Step up to the plate.

I’ll smash ya face in @TonyFergusonXT

A matchup between Hooker and Ferguson would pit two fighters in desperate need of a victory against one another.

Hooker, 32, is in the midst of a stretch with four losses in his past five fights, including three first-round stoppage defeats. “The Hangman” most recently competed in March and suffered a quick TKO loss to Arnold Allen in his attempted return to the featherweight division.

Ferguson has lost four straight, albeit to the elite of the 155-pound division in Michael Chandler, Beneil Dariush, Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje. The most recent result against Chandler at UFC 274 in May saw “El Cucuy” knocked out with arguably the most brutal front kick in UFC history.