New Zealand’s favorite lightweight, Dan Hooker, is thrilled to be competing again so soon, and against as popular an opponent as Islam Makhachev. Retired champ Khabib Nurmagomedov’s long shadow still stands over the lightweight division, and Makhachev is Khabib’s heir apparent.
Dan Hooker wants to be the man who stops the Makhachev hype train. He told MMAFighting.com that as much as he’d love to fight Khabib, Makhachev is the next best thing.
Hooker: Beating Makhachev “Next Best Thing” To Defeating Khabib
“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.”
Hooker continued, explaining his logic. Makhachev is a highly hyped fighter with a large fanbase, widely touted as a title prospect. Beating him gets Hooker closer to the lightweight belt.
“Everyone’s putting him on a pedestal. Every guy is showing a lot of respect for his abilities and making a lot of comparisons with Khabib. It will be a great opportunity.
I feel like this is a massive fight. A win here puts you in title contention. That’s another thing that’s obviously exciting.”
Dan Hooker’s dry Kiwi sense of humor and relentless optimism have made him a favorite in his home country and will likely endear him to a growing fanbase in the USA.
He doesn’t appear particularly worried about Makhachev’s prodigious grappling ability or stellar 20-1 record. When asked about his approach to the fight, Hooker’s answer was simple. “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.
I don’t shy away from these terrible positions. This is the kind of fight where I can show what you very rarely get to show off. All that hard work, cause that doesn’t really come out until you’re tired, exhausted, in a fourth and fifth round and need to gut it out and pull some rabbit out of a hat.
This is a good fight for me where I get to show all of that kind of stuff, because it’s not easy to train that for over a decade. It’s very difficult to put yourself in those positions. You get sick of it, but I’m not sick of it. I like fighting.”
Do you think Dan “The Hangman” Hooker might be the one to defeat Islam Makhachev? Let us know in the comments.
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