“Don’t let the silly rankings spoil good fights,” Dan Hooker clarifies why he agreed to fight Nasrat Haqparast on UFC 266

“Don’t let the silly rankings spoil good fights,” Dan Hooker clarifies why he agreed to fight Nasrat Haqparast on UFC 266

Dan Hooker and Nasrat Haqparast

The number 8th ranked UFC Lightweight fighter, Dan Hooker is going to enter the Octagon against an unranked opponent, Nasrat Haqparast at UFC 266. Since his loss against Michael Chandler at UFC 257, Hooker has been struggling really hard to find an opponent for him.

Hooker faced two consecutive losses, first against Dustin Poirier on UFC on ESPN: Hooker vs Poirier, then at UFC 257 against Chandler. These two losses pushed him out of the top 5 rankings and he is currently sitting at the number 8 spot.

While the other Lightweights are looking to compete against top-ranked contenders only, Dan Hooker signing a fight against an unranked opponent came as shock for some of his fans. But in his latest interview with Submission Radio, Hooker clarified that getting a fight booked was more important for him this time.

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‘Hangman’ says, “If I don’t take that fight, I don’t fight to make that like the clear first thing. If I don’t take the fight with Nasrat, I don’t fight and I am a fighter, what I want is to get out there and compete and to turn down that fight because he isn’t ranked, is silly”

Dan Hooker believes Nasrat Haqparast has the same skills as many ranked guys

Dan Hooker
Dan Hooker

Nasrat Haqparast is one of the emerging fighters in the UFC Lightweight division and he holds a record of 5-2 inside the promotion. He secured the latest win against Rafa Garcia on UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs Muhammad and Dan Hooker believes he has the same skill set as many of the ranked fighters.

Hooker added, “Rankings are fun, they are like a fun thing but they should never be like that if they got in the way of me getting out there and competing. He is the same caliber fighter as a lot of guys in the rankings. 5-2 in UFC and Nasrat is coming into this fight winning his last two fights.”

“He is definitely on the same skill level as ranked guys. But to turn that fight because he isn’t ranked that’s silly and don’t let the silly rankings spoil the good fights.”

It will be interesting to see whether Dan Hooker will come back to the win column after this fight or Nasrat Haqparast will enter the rankings with the biggest win of his career at UFC 266.

Also Read: UFC 266: Dan Hooker targeted to face Nasrat Haqparast in the Lightweight contest.