"You can't even compare the two" - Dan Hooker brushes away his troubles ahead of UFC 266 in the face of opponent Nasrat Haqparast recently losing his mum
Dan Hooker brushes away the comparisons between himself and his UFC 266 opponent Nasrat Haqparast's circumstances. In his most recent interview with Submission Radio, Hooker spoke about Haqparast's mother passing away.
"If I'm comparing my circumstances to Nasrat's circumstances...you can't even compare the two.
My situation pales in comparison to what Nasrat's going through. That's something I've never experienced, my mother is still happy and healthy. So that's not a feeling I can even pretend to experience.
Like what he's going through to show up to this fight is a thousand times worse than anything that I could possibly be going through...comparing my situation to his is just silliness," Dan Hooker said.
UFC lightweight fighter Nasrat Haqparast recently announced in his Instagram post that his beloved mother has passed away just days ahead of his bout at UFC 266 against Dan Hooker. Hooker offered his condolences to Haqparast for his tragic loss.
The bout between these lightweight fighters at UFC 266 was at a point a few days back where it wasn't likely to happen.
Hooker was unable to get an appointment at the US Embassy due to the lockdown imposed in Auckland. In a dire attempt, Hooker took to social media to request the embassy to give him an appointment.
And we are in with a shot....they have granted me an appointment Monday. All goes well and I get my passport back, I can jump on the only flight out of NZ Thursday night.
Arrive in Vegas Thursday night, weigh in Friday morning, fight Saturday. ✌️
#MMATwitter 🙏🙏🙏 https://t.co/37l4Ajfba7
'Hangman' later revealed that his visa got approved by the US Embassy in New Zealand and that now he will be able to fight against Haqparast at UFC 266 this weekend.
Dan Hooker appreciates Nasrat Haqparast for his commitment towards their fight
Dan Hooker appreciated Haqparast for his utmost commitment towards their fight at UFC 266.
" That would be terrible and that really wouldn't sit right with me if I couldn't make the fight and yet he's still making the sacrifice.
He's the one pushing through all the tough stuff, he's the one persevering in this fight," Dan Hooker said in his interview with Submission Radio.
Both of these UFC lightweight fighters have been respectful towards each other and have shown us again what the sport of MMA is all about.
I’m still gonna fight @danthehangman . I’m honored to share the cage with a man with values like you.
You can watch the entire Submission Radio interview with Dan Hooker below: