Dan Hooker plans to derail the Islam Makhachev hype train at UFC 267.
Betting underdog Dan Hooker plans to derail the Islam Makhachev hype train with an upset victory over the feared Dagestani in their highly anticipated lightweight bout at UFC 267 on Saturday.
Hooker respects Makhachev and his accomplishments but is confident he will spoil the ‘party’ on Oct. 30.
“That train of thought never appealed to me, or I never understood discrediting an opponent’s achievements leading into a fight. Because when you beat them, you’re just downplaying your own achievements. I have no intention to nitpick his past or nitpick any of his achievements and kind of downplay them. That’s not even how I approach it mentally,” Hooker said (via MMAjunkie.com).
“I want to fight him because he is a specialist. I want to fight him because there is so much intrigue. I want to fight him because he is considered the best grappler in the division. I want to fight the best people in the world, and he’s considered one of the best people in the world. That’s why I want to fight him. I don’t want to fight him because I think he’s an easy target. It doesn’t make sense to discredit him. He’s deserved everything he’s achieved. This is his party. I’m just here to spoil it. That’s my whole plan.”
Hooker will take on Makhachev just four weeks removed from his decision win over Nasrat Haqparast at UFC 266 last month. ‘The Hangman’ stepped in for an injured Rafael dos Anjos who was Makhachev’s original opponent for UFC 267.
The upcoming pay-per-view, which features a headlining light heavyweight title bout between Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira, takes place this Saturday, October 30, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.