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Sean O'Malley has said that UFC lightweight Dan Hooker deserves more popularity and respect in the MMA world.
On an episode of The BrOMalley Show, Sean and his brother Daniel O'Malley weighed in on the upcoming UFC 267 lightweight bout between Dan Hooker and Islam Makhachev. 'Suga' praised Dan Hooker for taking the fight on short notice, and referred to 'The Hangman' as an "animal". Sean O'Malley said:
“It’s a win-win in a sense because he (Dan Hooker) is supposed to get mauled. He goes out there, takes a short-notice fight, gets mauled, gets paid, gets everyone’s like, ‘This motherf**ker’s got ba**s’. Now, he’s gonna fight probably someone coming off a loss; still a stud prize. Or he goes out there and submits him, and it’s like, ‘Holy sh**’, or finishes him or just beats him in general."
"Hooker’s an animal. I wish that dude was - I mean, he also said UFC offered him money that he couldn’t turn down, which is sweet. He deserves it. Hooker deserves more popularity, more; I mean, I think everyone respects him. I don’t think there’s anyone that’s like, ‘Nope, Hooker. No’. But he should be more of a star, I think. Dude’s a f**king stud.”
The brothers agreed that the UFC 267 matchup is important for both Dan Hooker and Islam Makhachev. Sean O'Malley opined that Hooker has excellent jiu-jitsu, is very good with his range as well as his knees up the middle. He can also push the pace for the 25-minute duration of a five-round fight. They noted that in Hooker's case, it would be for 15 minutes in his three-round fight at UFC 267.
The brothers highlighted that the last fighter to defeat Dan Hooker, Michael Chandler, went on to compete for the UFC lightweight title in his next fight.
Furthermore, Sean O'Malley indicated that Islam Makhachev needs a win over a proven top-tier fighter like Hooker to catapult himself into title contention. Conversely, Sean also insinuated that a win over Makhachev could do wonders for Hooker's momentum in the division.
You can catch Sean O'Malley's statements regarding the Hooker-Makhachev matchup in the video below:
Sean O'Malley looks to break into the top 15; Dan Hooker aims for UFC gold
Sean O'Malley and Dan Hooker are on a quest to win the UFC bantamweight title and the UFC lightweight title, respectively.
O'Malley is set to compete against the No. 15-ranked UFC bantamweight Raulian Paiva at UFC 269 on December 11th, 2021. A win over Paiva would help 'Suga' enter the top 15 at bantamweight, and would be a huge step forward in regards to his title aspirations.
Meanwhile, Dan Hooker recently snapped a two-fight losing streak by defeating Nasrat Haqparast via unanimous decision at UFC 266 on September 25th, 2021. Hooker subsequently replaced the injured Rafael dos Anjos on short notice to face Islam Makhachev at UFC 267 on October 30th, 2021.
