Exclusive: Dan Hooker claims fans should "side heavily" with Israel Adesanya in Alex Pereira fight
UFC lightweight Dan Hooker believes that fans who are doubting Israel Adesanya in his title defense against Alex Pereira haven't done their "homework."
Adesanya vs. Pereira is set to headline UFC 281 this weekend. The rivalry between 'The Last Stylebender' and 'Poatan' is rooted in their time as professional kickboxers. The pair fought twice, with the Brazilian walking away victorious each time.
The first fight was a controversial decision for Pereira, but the Brazilian knocked out Adesanya in the second. It remains the only knockout loss of Israel Adesanya's MMA and kickboxing careers.
Due to their history, many fans believe UFC 281's main event will be a much more even contest than Adesanya's previous title defenses. According to Dan Hooker, however, fans who believe that are misinformed.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA's Andrew Whitelaw, 'The Hangman' explained that if you are judging the fight off of skill and experience, Israel Adesanya should be the clear favorite:
"He's got the bragging rights for now, Israel always said. In terms of actual skill and actual experience, you'd have to side heavily with Israel. It's funny the amount of people that don't actually do their homework that don't go back and study these fights and look at them before the weekend. If you go back and watch these fights, I think it changes pretty quick the outcome of this contest."
Watch Dan Hooker's interview with Sportskeeda MMA here:
Dan Hooker picks Israel Adesanya as most interesting character in the UFC
In the same interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Dan Hooker was asked to name the most interesting character in the UFC.
Hooker, who is a close friend and City Kickboxing teammate of 'The Last Stylebender', chose the middleweight champion:
"I think Israel is a pretty interesting guy. I'd say Israel."
Israel Adesanya is known not only for his MMA skills but also for his outlandish style and his love of Japanese anime shows, referenced by his nickname.
Hooker also named Francis Ngannou as the UFC's hardest hitter and Kamaru Usman as the organization's smartest fighter.
'The Hangman' will make his long awaited return at UFC 281 following a first-round TKO loss to Arnold Allen back in March. Hooker kicks off the main card when he faces Claudio Puelles and hopes to put an end to some torrid form that has left him 1-4 in his last five octagon appearances.
Viewers in India can watch the LIVE coverage of UFC 281 on SONY TEN 2 (English), SONY TEN 3 (Hindi) & SONY TEN 4 (Tamil & Telugu) channels at 8:30 am IST on November 13, 2022.