Dan Hooker believes Justin Gaethje certainly has a shot at beating Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Gaethje is expected to challenge Nurmagomedov in a lightweight title unification fight later this year. Hooker, meanwhile, will be hoping to stake a claim for the next title shot with a potential win over Dustin Poirier when they meet in the UFC Vegas 4 headliner this weekend.
Poirier notably holds a win over Gaethje and when asked who would win this weekend, the latter went with his old foe. But for Hooker, that isn’t that surprising.
“Yeah, like, if someone knocks you out, you obviously want them to do well and see them succeed cause it makes you look better,” Hooker told Submission Radio. “Like, if I go out there and I knock Dustin Poirier out, then it makes Gaethje kind of look like a bum.
“So, I guess he doesn’t want that and so he wants – I think it’s a 50/50 fight, me and Poirier. I think there’s equal chance that he knocks me out or I knock him out, and I’m prepared for that kind of fight. So, of course Gaethje is going to hedge his bets against a guy that’s flatlined him.”
Hooker: Nurmagomedov vs. Gaethje Is Even Contest
Despite Gaethje’s prediction, Hooker still seems to rate him and his skillset quite high.
Gaethje is currently on a four-fight winning streak and is coming off an impressive fifth-round TKO win over Tony Ferguson. And “Hangman” believes he has all the skills necessary to be the first to inflict defeat on Nurmagomedov.
That said, he feels the same about his skills against Gaethje.
“I feel like that’s [Nurmagomedov vs. Gaethje] an even contest as well,” Hooker added. “I feel like that’s a 50/50 contest. I feel like Gaethje has the skills to beat him, like, a good pace, good pressure, knockout ability, and a very strong defensive wrestler. So, if you’re gonna design a fighter to give Khabib trouble, I would pick the skills that are there in Justin Gaethje to get the job done against Khabib.
“But then again, if you’re gonna be picking skills to pick apart Justin Gaethje, I think I’m the guy to do that. So, I think it’s just funny how all of these styles match up.”
Do you agree with Hooker?