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Dan Hooker has given his thoughts on who the best grappler and most technical lightweight is in the UFC.
While he may be in the midst of a move down to featherweight, that doesn’t mean Dan Hooker doesn’t know a thing or two about the 155-pound division. 'The Hangman' spent many years as a top contender at lightweight.
While he didn’t win the belt, he certainly had a lot of fun outings along the way, many of which took place against some established grapplers.
In the latest edition of Pub Talk with The Mac Life's Oscar Willis, Hooker revealed that he believes Beneil Dariush is the best grappler at lightweight.
“Beneil, in my opinion, is the best grappler and the most technical lightweight in the UFC. He’s a guy that could do with saying a few more things, you know what I mean?
“I think it’s a tough fight [Dariush vs. Makhachev]. Beneil’s grappling is incredible. It’s a submission game. I feel like Beneil has the striking advantage. If they do cancel each other out then in my opinion, Beneil is head and shoulders [better] on the feet. That’s the two best grapplers in the division, in my opinion.”
Catch the latest episode of Pub Talk with Oscar Willis and Dan Hooker below:
Hooker didn’t go up against Beneil Dariush but did clash with Islam Makhachev in his latest fight, losing via submission in the first round.
UFC Fight Night: Dariush vs. Makhachev
After piecing together seven straight wins in the UFC, most recently against Carlos Diego Ferreira and Tony Ferguson, Beneil Dariush will now be rewarded with a huge showdown against Islam Makhachev in early 2022.
It’s the kind of UFC fight that could easily be viewed as a number one contender matchup. It will likely lead to the victor getting a shot at the UFC lightweight championship, after Justin Gaethje, that is.
Dan Hooker is clearly hyping up the grappling of Beneil Dariush, which is pretty interesting given how dominant Islam Makhachev has been in that department. What's certain is that if this bout does go to the ground, we could be in for a pretty intriguing battle.
