Dan Hooker gives his thoughts on Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski

Dan Hooker weighed in on the upcoming super fight between his CKB teammate, featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 284.

In a video uploaded to Israel Adesanya's YouTube channel, Hooker gave his thoughts on the champion vs. champion bout. He mentioned a positive that came from Makhachev's post-fight interview at UFC 280 was that he silenced any doubt surrounding how active he would be, saying:

"It's a difficult fight for Makhachev and it's a credit to him. I think the biggest hesitation with him being a champion was that he would not be as active as a lot of other champions." {7:46 - 7:58}

Hooker also credited the lightweight champion for taking a risk and accepting a title fight against 'The Great.' He mentioned that the willingness to fight in his opponent's home country isn't something he and his team are known for, saying:

"For him to get on the microphone straight after their fight and call for another fight in his own territory, but be willing to fly a very long distance. They {Makhachev's team} don't usually take those risks...I tip my hat to Makhachev because he's in for one hell of a fight. Volk's a difficult man to hold down and even harder to keep there. Yeah, he's in for a tough night." {7:59 - 8:49}

It will be interesting to see whether Volkanovski can join the list of UFC fighters to simultaneously hold two UFC championships. He has proven to be capable of defeating grappling and submission specialists in the past. It will be intriguing to see whether he's capable of doing the same to the much larger Makhachev.

Check out the full video:

Dan Hooker wants to fight a ranked opponent at UFC 284 in Perth, Australia

Israel Adesanya and Dan Hooker had an intense sparring session heading into fight week. Iron sharpens iron! 😤 #UFC276 (via @stylebender) https://t.co/tynXDWVE2U

Dan Hooker is hopeful that he will get matched up with a ranked opponent at UFC 284 in Perth, Australia.

'Hangman' has been calling for the opportunity to compete closer to home and would prefer a ranked opponent based on his most recent win against Claudio Puelles. During an interview on Israel Adesanya's YouTube channel, he mentioned that he proved there's a skill difference between ranked and unranked fighters, saying:

"I wanted to prove that my skill level is a step ahead of ranked and unranked, like I definitely belong there. And I think for Perth {Australia}, it should be a ranked opponent...I think the fans have come out and said and they're all pretty adament that they would like someone in the rankings." {3:20 - 3:55}

Time isn't on 'Hooker's' side at the moment as the event is fast approaching and he still isn't booked for a fight. If there aren't any ranked lightweights willing to accept the fight, he might have to settle for an unranked opponent if he wants to compete at UFC 284.