"He picked the losing horse" - Dan Hooker reacts to Hasbulla attending UFC 267 to support Islam Makhachev, claims Abdu Rozik is on his team

Dan Hooker is unfazed despite learning that one of Dagestan's most popular MMA figures will be in Islam Makhachev's corner at UFC 267. No, it's not former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Internet sensation Hasbulla Magomedov will reportedly be in attendance at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi to support his compatriot. To even out the odds, Hooker said he's recruiting Hasbulla's archnemesis Abdu Rozik to his team. Speaking to reporters ahead of UFC 267, Hooker said:

"Abdu [Rozik] is on my team. I've got a horse in the race now. I'm training my boy, Abdu... I'm not even sh***ing. Abdu is on my team, Hasbulla can be on his team. He's picked his horse. He picked the losing horse. Game on, baby!"

Check out Dan Hooker's interview below:

Hasbulla seems to have a cordial relationship with fellow Dagestani stars Nurmagomedov and Makhachev. Based on his social media posts, Hasbulla had dinner with Khabib and was seen hanging out with Makhachev on a couple of occasions.

Hasbulla shot to fame during the pandemic after he uploaded videos of himself getting into confrontations and mimicking his hero Nurmagomedov. His most popular video is a UFC press conference parody with fellow internet celebrity Rozik.

Often mistaken for a child, Hasbulla was born in 2003 and is 18 years old as of 2021. His specific date of birth hasn't been publicized.

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Islam Makhachev responds to Dan Hooker's challenge

Dan Hooker challenged Islam Makhachev to turn their scheduled bout into a five-round affair. 'The Hangman' issued a callout on social media and followed it up with comments during his interview with Submission Radio. Dan Hooker said:

“Let’s do it I just feel good, man. I just feel good. I just feel like there was a couple of really hard weeks getting back into the swing of things. And by that I mean getting the rounds in, with the bodies, getting the sparring in, getting the wrestling in, wrestling every day, conditioning every second day. And it was a real grind there for a couple of weeks. And then that last week, it just came on, man – just felt good."

Makhachev responded with a mere dismissal of his opponent's idea. As of now, the bout is still set for three rounds.