“Islam’s the next best thing,” Dan Hooker believes beating Islam Makhachev is the closest he can get to beating Khabib Nurmagomedov

“Islam’s the next best thing,” Dan Hooker believes beating Islam Makhachev is the closest he can get to beating Khabib Nurmagomedov

Dan Hooker on Islam Makhachev

Dan Hooker stepped in on short notice to face the hottest prospect in the lightweight division, Islam Makhachev. The duo is set to face each other at UFC 267, and this could be a matchup for the ages.

Hooker is really excited for this matchup, and he believes beating Islam would be the closest anyone could get to beating the former lightweight king, Khabib Nurmagomedov. In his recent interview with MMA Fighting, he talked about this.

He said, “If I could fight any lightweight on the face of the planet, it would be Khabib. I want to see how I measure up with him. It’s no lie that Islam’s the next best thing. Beating Islam is the only opportunity you’re going to get to show what would have happened if you got in there with Khabib when he was champion. There’s a lot of exciting aspects about this fight. It’s just another one. I feel like it’s a perfect time for this fight to come together.”

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“Just jump in the fire,” Dan Hooker on his approach to fight Islam Makhachev

Dan Hooker
Dan Hooker

Makhachev has been dominating his opponents rather easily, he is an excellent grappler, and Hooker isn’t necessarily known for his wrestling. While talking about his approach for this fight, he said, “Just jump in the fire.”

“I wrestled today. I’m a guy that’s not ever been scared to put myself in terrible positions or bad positions in a training environment. I feel like that’s where a lot of these other guys, they kind of crumble because they get a lot better at certain things and so they avoid terrible positions,” said Hooker.

Also read – “They’re trying to get him to the title,” Dan Hooker talks about his fight against Islam Makhachev at UFC 267