Salahdine Parnasse Finishes Dan Hooker and Calls Out Max Holloway After First Round UFC Paris Main Event Victory

Salahdine Parnasse remains among the very few fighters to headline a UFC event upon debut after fighting Dan Hooker at UFC Paris.

Salahdine Parnasse Finishes Dan Hooker and Calls Out Max Holloway After First Round UFC Paris Main Event Victory

Salahdine Parnasse wants Max Holloway after defeating Dan Hooker (Image via UFC News X Account)

UFC Paris showcased a wide array talents from various European nations. The main event featured the debut of French-Moroccan MMA star Salahdine Parnasse as he stopped UFC veteran Dan Hooker in the very first round.

Parnasse came in as the heavy favorite as oddsmakers had him at around -575, whereas Hooker was +425 underdog. The former KSW lightweight champion had only lost twice in his career, and came to the UFC with a five-fight winning streak, all of which came by KO/TKO.

Meanwhile, Hooker entered the fight on a two-fight losing streak and had much on the line at UFC Paris. The first round saw Hooker and Parnasse trade leg kicks in the first two minutes. However, the hometown favorite did check most of them and landed a devastating body kick.

Commentator Michael Bisping claimed that the kick hit the liver of the Kiwi fighter. Soon, Parnasse landed a punch that knocked Hooker down and follow up shots made the referee Marc Goddard stop the bout at 2 minutes 25 seconds of the first round.

During the octagon interview, Parnasse proclaimed himself as the best fighter in the world. With the win, he improved his record to 20-2. All of his last six fights has ended in KO/TKO.

Parnasse then proceeded to call out former featherweight champion, Max Holloway, for his next fight when Bisping interviewed him.

My next fight (is) top five. My dream fight is Max Holloway you know. Max Holloway is the legend… I’m ready for Max Holloway.

Salahdine Parnasse told Michael Bisping

On the other hand, Dan Hooker has now lost all of his last three fights. To make matters worse, he was finished in all of those losses. Benoit Saint-Denis and Arman Tsarukyan finished him round 2, but Parnasse violently finished Hooker off in the first round.

The future looks bright for Parnasse as there are many interesting matchups for him in the lightweight division, whereas fans are wondering where Hooker goes from here.

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Dan Hooker confirms Salahdine Parnasse bout was the biggest payday of his career

Lightweight veteran Dan Hooker is ready to take on anyone in the UFC. As such, he recently issued a callout to free agent Usman Nurmagomedov ahead of his UFC Paris main event.

Dan Hooker and Salahdine Parnasse
Dan Hooker and Salahdine Parnasse (Image via Instagram)

The Kiwi fighter remains far away from the title picture at the moment. At 36 years of age, Hooker may never compete for the title and he has accepted that reality. This is why he is ready to take on newcomers and rising contenders in the lightweight division.

With that, he hopes to shatter dreams of such prospects that the UFC pairs him up with. At the same time, he expects compensation for such bouts.

Earlier, rumors started swirling about Hooker getting paid a huge amount to take on Parnasse. The veteran has since confirmed that the UFC Paris main event bout was the biggest payday of his career.

If they pay me this much money to fight the new kids, then I’ll be fighting the new kids till the day I die. I’d fight Francis Ngannou for the amount of money they’re paying… Yeah. Biggest payday of my career for sure.

Dan Hooker told RMC Sport Combat

Hooker has fought champions and title challengers throughout his career. Fighters like Islam Makhachev, Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler, Gilbert Burns, and Al Iaquinta are some of the names he fought against.

UFC has a history of pairing ageing veterans with rising prospects. Hooker is not at all hesitant with such matchmaking decisions as long as he gets paid. As such, it remains to be seen if any of the prospects that Hooker fights moving forward will one day challenge for the UFC gold.

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