Dan Hooker isn’t sold on the idea of Islam Makhachev giving Arman Tsarukyan a shot at the UFC Lightweight Championship.
Back in April 2019, Makhachev and Tsarukyan had a highly competitive bout on a UFC Fight Night card in Saint Petersburg, Russia. While Makhachev earned the unanimous decision, fans began to take notice of how good Tsarukyan is.
Dan Hooker Sounds Off On Chances Of Makhachev vs. Tsarukyan 2
Dan Hooker recently appeared on “The MMA Hour” and told Ariel Helwani and that he thinks Arman Tsarukyan would have a pretty good shot at dethroning Makhachev. With that said, he doubts the matchup will be booked.
“Yeah, they had a pretty close way in the first one,” Hooker said. “Yeah, he could beat him, but he ain’t gonna fight him, I guarantee you. He’ll retire by the time Arman gets there for sure.”
Dan Hooker Reacts to Tsarukyan’s Incident With Bobby Green
When Helwani asked Hooker to elaborate, the UFC veteran went on to say that there are simply more attractive fights for the lightweight champion.
“Too risky, there’s too much risk, there’s too many other easier fights out there,” Hooker said. “There’s easier fights out there.
“No one’s gonna buy an Arman Tsarukyan pay-per-view,” Hooker said. “Come on, you know what I mean? No one’s tuning into the press conference, no one’s giving 80 dollars for the pay-per-view. You’d rather watch Islam fight McGregor or Gaethje or something like that.”
Hooker then weighed in on an incident Tsarukyan had with Bobby Green during fight week for UFC Austin. Tsarukyan had his hand around Green’s throat, and things almost became more physical before both men were restrained. Footage later showed Green’s team approaching Tsarukyan’s team, and things became hostile again.
Responding to the incident, Hooker expressed his belief that Tsarukyan is walking a fine line.
“Bro, that’s a dangerous game,” Hooker said. “Striking just for striking, like, I don’t know. If you wanna talk to me, talk to me from over there, but you can’t come close or I’m gonna hand fight you, my man,” Hooker said laughing. “That’s silly, bro.”
Here is Dan Hooker’s full appearance on “The MMA Hour:”
