Anytime. Anywhere. This is the type of mindset Dan Hooker has.
Hooker Steps Up
Travel issues and weight cutting adversity wouldn’t stop the Kiwi fighter from fighting (and beating) Nasrat Haqparast last weekend at UFC 266. ‘Hangman’ would hang up his gloves after a dominant 3 rounds against the young up-and-coming prospect.
Hooker was supposed to head home sometime after getting back in the win column. However, it is a very difficult and lengthy process to return to his home country of New Zealand, considering all of the COVID-19 protocols in place.
With another hard wait period to see his family ahead of him, another opportunity would present itself. Islam Makhachev.
Fight Fallout
The Dagestani danger was originally supposed to fight Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC 267 (Oct. 30). However, an injury would prevent the rebooking from taking place. With not many fighters looking to take a chance on Makhachev, there was one name that stood out from the rest.
The History
Hooker has made it known in the past that he is not scared of Makhachev. Hooker even called him out a few months ago after his dominating win against Thiago Moises. He wasn’t impressed by the performance and talked some trash to the grappler.
Makhachev says otherwise, claiming Hooker has declined to fight him before. Once he beat Moises in a main event slot, Makhachev had no interest in fighting Hooker. He brushed off Hooker’s words, discrediting the Kiwi for being 3-3 in his last 6.
The resurging Hooker is now out of the gallows as Islam had a change of heart.
With the impressive win last weekend and no other ranked opponents being offered up, Islam Makhachev has agreed to fight Dan Hooker. The match was first reported by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto and will go down in just a month at UFC 267.
DAN HOOKER (@danthehangman) is stepping in to face Islam Makhachev (@MAKHACHEVMMA) at UFC 267 in one month, per Dana White (@danawhite). Just fought at UFC 266, on a week he had to fly from New Zealand to Vegas two days before the fight. What a savage, this guy. pic.twitter.com/DJvGnbWwlF
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) September 30, 2021
