Dan Hooker describes the biggest difficulty fighting Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev: "The myth of it is bigger"
Dan Hooker recently opened up about fighting the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev and described why it has been so difficult for fighters. The 34-year-old highlighted what makes fighting the Dagestanis a tall task and how fighters can prepare for it.
The No. 6-ranked lightweight knows firsthand what it's like to compete against Makhachev inside the octagon. They competed at UFC 267 in 2021, where the Dagestani earned a dominant first-round submission to continue his surge up the lightweight rankings. In his next outing, Makhachev earned a first-round TKO win over Bobby 'King' Green before submitting Charles Oliveira to win the vacant lightweight championship.
During a recent appearance on Submission Radio, 'Hangman' discussed what makes the lightweight champion so difficult to compete against. Hooker mentioned that the hype surrounding their abilities creates a myth about them, which results in opponents being hesitant rather than taking an aggressive approach:
"The myth of it is bigger than the actual task and they kind of ride off the back of the myth of Khabib [Nurmagomedov] and that's bled into [Islam] Makhachev and you can see it... It definitely affected me. It's bigger than the actual guy, if you boil it down to the actual guy, it makes it quite a bit simpler." [3:14]
Check out the full interview with Dan Hooker below:
Dan Hooker shares prediction for Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan rematch
In addition to describing what made fighting Islam Makhachev so difficult, Dan Hooker shared his prediction for the Dagestani's upcoming rematch against Arman Tsarukyan.
During the aforementioned appearance, Hooker mentioned that Tsarukyan is an intriguing matchup for Makhachev, but said he believes the lightweight champion will have the perfect gameplan to ensure he retains his title:
"Islam [Makhachev is] very defensively sound on the feet. And I feel like once he has more time to study and break down [Tsarukyan's] counter-wrestling, I think it will be a more dominant win for Islam in the second fight." [22:06]
Check out Arman Tsarukyan calling out Islam Makhachev at UFC 300 below: