“They’re trying to get him to the title,” Dan Hooker talks about his fight against Islam Makhachev at UFC 267
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Dan Hooker and Islam Makhachev
The number 6th ranked UFC Lightweight fighter, Dan Hooker secured a unanimous decision win against Nasrat Haqparast on UFC 266 and it looks like he isn’t going home anytime soon after securing this victory.
Hooker was facing visa issues before his fight at UFC 266 and he landed in Vegas just the night before his weigh-ins. Following this, he intend to go back to New Zealand but UFC offered him one more high-profile Lightweight fight against, Islam Makhachev at UFC 267.
Makhachev was booked to face Rafael Dos Anjos at this fight card but Dos Anjos pulled out his name from the fight due to an injury and in his latest interview with The Mac Life, Dan Hooker revealed that he was hesitant to stay away from his family initially but UFC made him an offer he can’t refuse.
Hooker says, “I knew I was the only guy, the only real option, But yeah, they called me up and I’m a happy man! I’ll see you in Abu Dhabi! I called up the missus, get out the red panties baby!”
“Now it’s indefinite. It’s not like it’s just stupid money. It’s money to justify what they’re asking me to do, right? They’re asking me to pretty much leave my country so with that I need enough to set up a life here for however long.”
Dan Hooker added, “Because there’s Kiwis that have been stuck out of New Zealand for a couple of years now, so it’s all well and good being like, yeah, I’ll take the risk but not being able to go home for a couple of years is daunting to a lot of people.” {H/T MMA Fighting}
Dan Hooker isn’t bothered by Islam Makhachev’s reputation
Although the fight between Dan Hooker and Islam Makhachev isn’t officially announced but Hooker sees no problem in this fight being finalized as the promotion wants to see Makhachev fighting in Abu Dhabi desperately.
Hooker added, “Just the feeling I get off of it, they’re so desperate on getting Islam this fight because they’re trying to, obviously, Dubai, there’s a huge fan base there, but they’re trying to get him to the title, right? and you can’t a title eliminator where only if one of the guys wins.”
Islam Makhachev is Khabib Nurmagomedov’s prodigy and since his loss in the second UFC fight, Makhachev has been tearing out the entire division. But Dan Hooker is unfazed by the stardom surrounding Islam Makhachev.
He continued, “A bit of the Khabib mystique has rubbed off on him and his last few performances have been fairly dominant, I’ve trained with Drew and the way he fought Drew was pretty decisive. Even his last fight, he came out there and it was a pretty dominant fight.”
“Even his last fight, he came out there and it was a pretty dominant fight. So there’s definite skill there but I would love to be the first one to get out there and make him look human, because I know we all are. That’s the funny thing about it, people can say whatever they’re gonna say, like, ‘ Oh, this guy’s unbeatable, this guy’s untouchable!’”
In the end, Hooker concluded, “I’ve been in the gym with these guys. They all bleed, they all get tired, they all get injured, they all get hurt, and I know I can put anyone’s lights out. To everyone else he’s kind of a mysterious character that has a lot of mystique and invincibility, to me he’s just another body.” {H/T MMA Fighting}
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