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Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev may be regarded as two of the most dominant lightweights in MMA, but Dan Hooker claims he's unfazed.
Khabib played down Hooker's chances against his teammate, saying Hooker's odds of defeating Makhachev is only 1%. Meanwhile, Makhachev claimed the Kiwi fighter's only chance of beating him is through a lucky knockout punch.
In an interview with It's Time For Sports, Hooker responded to the Russian fighters' comments regarding his upcoming UFC 267 bout. 'The Hangman' said:
"I'm not scared of Khabib, why would I be scared of Islam? That really surprises me. If they came to me and they said, 'You wanna fight Khabib in four weeks?' I'd take that fight in a heartbeat. I took this fight in a sentence. I thought about it for about five seconds, it would take me one second to accept that fight with Khabib."
According to the Las Vegas oddsmakers, Hooker is a +300 underdog, leaving Makhachev the -450 favorite. Makhachev was originally booked to take on former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos. However, Hooker stepped in on short notice after the Brazilian suffered an injury.
Watch Dan Hooker's full interview below:
Dan Hooker says beating Islam Makhachev is the next best thing to beating Khabib Nurmagomedov
Dan Hooker made a surprising move when he agreed to fight Islam Makhachev days after his UFC 266 victory against Nasrat Haqparast. Hooker said he gladly accepted a short-notice fight against Makhachev as it's the next best thing to beating the indomitable Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“If I could fight any lightweight on the face of the planet, it would be Khabib,” Hooker told MMA Fighting. “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.”
Nurmagomedov called time on his career after defending his UFC lightweight title against Justin Gaethje. He retired with a perfect professional record of 29-0.
