Dan Hooker uses Max Verstappen’s win as a great analogy to defend his teammate Israel Adesanya’s championship run
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Hooker had an apt reply for fans who wanted Adesanya to take more damage in his fights
Dan Hooker used Max Verstappen’s dominance in his sport to defend the accolades of his friend and gym mate, Israel Adesanya. The Nigerian-born-Kiwi has been at the top of the middleweight division ever since he knocked out Robert Whittaker at a sold out Marvel Stadium.
Verstappen was able to start at the 14th place in the Belgian GP and end the race all the way at the top. This was an incredible feat by itself, what made it more special was that his championship rival, in the Ferrari, Charles Leclerc was pushed back all the way down to the sixth spot with only a miracle that can save his hopes of a successful run.
If this sounds similar, it may be because the very same thing happens to Izzy all the time where his challengers are not able to bring the fight to him and Izzy has a style potent enough to cruise to a victory every single time. This is well highlighted by the fact that since winning his title from Whittaker, Izzy has had only one finish in his 5 title defenses.
Related: Dan Hooker bashes critics for undermining Israel Adesanya’s performance at UFC 276
Dan Hooker defends Israel Adesanya against fans and critics calling him “Boring”
Fans have accused Izzy of being a “boring fighter” as most of these fights that end in decisions also reach that point with no significant moments to show for. This was most evident in his recent fight against Jared Cannonier where the Champion led the people to believe they were in for a total dismantling of “The Killa Gorilla” but instead had to do with a low-intensity bout with less than 200 significant strikes landed.
Dan Hooker has been a longtime friend of Adesanya’s and though he may always pick on Izzy whenever he has the chance to, he doesn’t appreciate others doing the same. In that same light, Dan today decided to take a stand for his teammate, using F1 as an example.
“I mean you’re winning and all but you’re playing it to safe. If you were really that good you would hit the wall a couple times or at least slow down to let someone else catch up, “ read the tweet by Hooker who pointed out the absurdity of asking an athlete to out himself through more trouble than what is required. This is a critique on fans claiming Izzy is very cautious about taking damage
He topped it off with a classic fan justification saying, “As a fan it would just make it more exciting to watch.” The tweet hit the right mark and even got a reaction from UFC stars from down under, Alexander Volkanovski and Jessica Rose Clarke.
When he’s not defending Izzy, Dan can be seen on the CKB mats beating the ever-living crap out of his teammates preparing for fights. Do you think Hooker provides an adequate defense of his teammate or do you still believe a champion should walk in to take more damage during fights? Let us know!
Also Read: “Wasn’t what he sold it to be” – Robert Whittaker recaps Israel Adesanya’s fight against Jared Cannonier at UFC 276
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Jerin Mathew
(713 Articles Published)