Sean O’Malley believes Dan Hooker should be a much bigger star.
Hooker has been in the headlines recently for his visa issues leading up to his eventual unanimous decision win over Nasrat Haqparast last month at UFC 266.
It didn’t stop there though as he would swiftly agree to step in on short notice to fight Islam Makhachev at UFC 267 later this month.
While Hooker is naturally an underdog against the dominant Makhachev, O’Malley believes it’s a win-win situation for the New Zealander.
“It’s a win-win in a sense because he (Dan Hooker) is supposed to get mauled,” O’Malley said on his channel (via Sportskeeda). “He goes out there, takes a short-notice fight, gets mauled, gets paid, gets everyone’s like, ‘This motherf*cker’s got balls’.
“Now, he’s gonna fight probably someone coming off a loss; still a stud prize. Or he goes out there and submits him, and it’s like, ‘Holy sh**’, or finishes him or just beats him in general.”
Overall, however, “Sugar” believes Hooker should be much more of a star in the eyes of the fans — especially given how game a fighter he is.
“Hooker’s an animal,” he added. “I wish that dude was – I mean, he also said UFC offered him money that he couldn’t turn down, which is sweet. He deserves it. Hooker deserves more popularity, more; I mean, I think everyone respects him. I don’t think there’s anyone that’s like, ‘Nope, Hooker. No’.
“But he should be more of a star, I think. Dude’s a f*cking stud.”
Do you agree with O’Malley?