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Sean O'Malley has shown his support for Dan Hooker ahead of the No.6-ranked lightweight's upcoming fight against Islam Makhachev at UFC 267. The event will go down this Saturday in Abu Dhabi.
Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos was initially scheduled to take on Makhachev. However, the Brazilian was ruled out of the bout due to a recent surgery. Hooker has stepped in on short notice to challenge the surging Dagestani.
Speaking to his brother Daniel O'Malley on the BrOMalley Show, 'Sugar' said that despite Makhachev being the favorite, he wants Hooker to come out on top this weekend.
"I want to see Dan Hooker win this fight so f*****g bad, dude. I want to see him knee up the middle, grab onto a guillotine, or something. I think it would be so bada*s. But if I was putting money on that fight and I had to provide for my family, I would have to put it on Islam. Khabib's saying he's the next big thing. People are saying he's better than Khabib."
Watch Sean O'Malley in conversation with his brother Daniel below:
Hooker (21-10) only fought last month at UFC 266. He defeated the unranked Nasrat Haqparast via unanimous decision, ending a two-fight losing skid.
Meanwhile, Makhachev (20-1) is on an eight-bout winning streak, which he's built since being knocked out by Adriano Martins at UFC 192 in October 2015.
Sean O'Malley will return to the octagon at UFC 269
Rising UFC bantamweight star Sean O'Malley will take on Raulian Paiva on the UFC 269 main card on December 11.
'Sugar' has already fought twice this year. He knocked out Thomas Almeida at UFC 260 in March and defeated Kris Moutinho via TKO at UFC 264 in July.
Sean O'Malley has lost once in his 15-fight career, a TKO defeat to No.13 bantamweight contender Marlon Vera at UFC 252 last August.
He's won either a Performance of the Night or Fight of the Night bonus in five of his six UFC bouts so far.
