Dan Hooker Trashes Islam Makhachev: ‘I Got Bored Watching His Main Event On Fast Forward’

Dan Hooker reacts to Islam Makhachev's win over Thiago Moises at UFC Vegas 31, and refutes Islam's claims of being scared to fight him

Dan Hooker Islam Makhachev
Photos via Instagram @danhangman @islam_makhachev

Over the weekend, lightweight prospect Islam Makhachev got a big win in his first ever UFC main event. While some people were impressed by this performance, Dan Hooker thought it was a bit on the boring side.

Of the laundry list of competitors that Makhachev has called out, Hooker is one that seemed ready to meet the Khabib Nurmagomedov protege in the Octagon. However that fight never materialized, and instead the Dagestani submitted Thiago Moises in the fourth round of the UFC Vegas 31 main event.

Speaking in a recent interview, Dan made it clear that he was not very impressed with what he saw out of Islam in this fight. In fact, he believes that if this fight happened in front of hometown Kiwi fans, there would have been a riot in the arena.

I was watching and on fast forward, and I got bored,” Hooker said. “I got bored watching his main event in fast forward, so,I couldn’t imagine watching the damn thing live in my hometown. I think there would have been a bloody riot after the fight.”

Dan Hooker Is Not Afraid Of Islam Makhachev

The narrative that Islam Makhachev has been trying to present, is that the fighters in the top ten of the lightweight division are scared to fight him. In particular, he said that this was how Dan Hooker felt, when he did not take the fight in 2020.

However Dan made it clear that he, nor likely anybody else in the top 15, are scared to fight anybody, Islam included. It was just a matter of what makes sense for each man, at any given time during their rise toward title contention.

“(Makhachev’s) like, ‘Oh man, I’m sick of these guys saying I’m a chicken,’ saying these things… Coming into the main event of UFC Auckland, and I knew Felder was going to be the fight, and then Islam starts chiming in. So, I started having a bit of banter with him, saying that I would have to give away tickets to the event in the car park of Pak’nSave if I got booked with Islam Makhachev,” Hooker said.

“So, I can’t say I regret not going out of my way to fight Islam, to put on a five-round war in my hometown with Paul Felder, and if it would’ve been anything like he performed in his main event, that’s not the style of fight that the Kiwi fans want to see. They want to see two blokes go out there and really challenge themselves and see who’s better…

“So, it is what it is. I had to put up with the chicken talk when the fight didn’t make sense for me, now the fight doesn’t make sense for him. Give him a little nudge in the ribs.”

Hooker went on to say that Islam Makhachev is only copying the things that his mentor Khabib used to say. However that does not exactly work when Islam has been knocked out in the past, as opposed to Khabib’s undefeated record.

“You see scrolling past and seeing on like build-up videos of him saying everyone’s scared, everyone’s scared to fight him, oh, the whole division’s shook. Bro, you’re just copying your mate’s homework. Give your mate’s homework back and come up with something for yourself, son,” Hooker quipped.

“He’s on a good streak at the moment, but I believe he’s been knocked out in the UFC before. So then him copying Khabib’s homework and saying all this wild stuff when you’ve been laid flat in the octagon, it doesn’t really have the same ring to it as an undefeated fighter.”

Islam Makhachev has been calling out the likes of Michael Chandler and Tony Ferguson after his most recent win. However perhaps a fight with Dan Hooker is a more feasible option, and one that makes more sense.

 

Published on July 19, 2021 at 12:06 pm
Stay up-to-date with the latest MMA news, rumors, and updates by following the RED Monster on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. Also, don't forget to add MiddleEasy to your Google News feed Follow us on Google News for even more coverage.

Related

Leave a Comment