Dan Hooker recalls the 'series of mistakes' that led to his UFC 267 loss against Islam Makhachev
Dan Hooker recalled his UFC 267 loss to Islam Makhachev and the mistakes he felt he made that night. ‘The Hangman’ asserted it wasn’t just one misque but a series that led to his first-round submission vs. Makhachev.
Speaking to Oscar Willis on the very first episode of the Pub Talk podcast, Dan Hooker stated:
“I wouldn’t say like, one little mistake. It’s like a series of mistakes.” Highlighting that he isn’t going to attribute to his loss to the fact that he accepted the fight on short notice, Hooker added, “The circumstances are like, completely irrelevant. I’m talking about like, in the fight; just some mistakes that just shouldn’t have been made. And that’s completely on me. I’m the one that has to bear the brunt of that, which I will.”
“I would just say he’s super patient. He’s just real patient. He got the takedown, which was obviously my bad. Secured it; my bad again. That’s two of the many mistakes. But yeah, he was just quite comfortable waiting there. So, again I tried to force it a little bit too much, like getting back up and obviously exposing it. I wasn’t comfortable just sitting there and just staying there for the next three minutes.”
You can watch Dan Hooker’s conversation with Oscar Willis in the video below:
Islam Makhachev is on the cusp of a UFC title shot after dominating Dan Hooker
Many in the mma community named Dan Hooker as the biggest test of Islam Makhachev’s pro career. A childhood friend and longtime training partner of Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev faced Hooker in a pivotal UFC 267 lightweight bout.
Islam Makhachev took Dan Hooker to the mat, thoroughly out-grappled, and submitted ‘The Hangman’. Hooker has lost three of his last four fights, and the consensus is he’d have to gain a decent win streak to re-enter the UFC lightweight title scene.
MAKHACHEV SUBMITS HOOKER IN ROUND ONE.
🇷🇺 @MakhachevMMA is NOT to be messed with! #UFC267
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Meanwhile, UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira defends his belt against Dustin Poirier at UFC 269.
While many believe Makhachev may earn a title shot against the winner of this fight, another lightweight in the mix is Justin Gaethje. Coming weeks should determine whether Makhachev or Gaethje is chosen as the next top 155-pound contender.