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Dan Hooker Explains Favoring Gaethje Fight Over Poirier Rematch

Though many fans are clamoring for him to run it back with Dustin Poirier, UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker doesn’t appear completely interested in “The Diamond.” Following a tough stretch of results, Hooker has firmly bounced back in recent times. He most recently returned to title contention by upsetting the odds to outpoint the highly […]

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Though many fans are clamoring for him to run it back with Dustin Poirier, UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker doesn’t appear completely interested in “The Diamond.”

Following a tough stretch of results, Hooker has firmly bounced back in recent times. He most recently returned to title contention by upsetting the odds to outpoint the highly regarded Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 305 this past August.

With that result in Perth, Australia, “The Hangman” could be one win away from a possible title shot. And because of that, Hooker isn’t looking to face a contender on their “way out the door.”

Following his latest win, the City Kickboxing standout initially pointed to a rematch with multi-time title challenger Poirier as a desired next fight. But that interest has seemingly dissipated, as Hooker revealed during an appearance on Tuesday’s episode of The Ariel Helwani Show on Uncrowned.

While acknowledging other options such as a first-time clash with Justin Gaethje, Hooker showed a surprising lack of interest in a second dance opposite Poirier.

The New Zealander cited Poirier’s planned retirement in 2025 as the reason behind his reservations when it comes to that fight, stating that he’s not keen on doing battle with somebody who has one foot into retirement.

“I’ve had a lot of the guys in the top five say my name,” Hooker said. “Arman (Tsarukyan) mentioned it for an interim title. Gaethje mentioned my name. Poirier, obviously, mentioned my name. I’m keen on any of those fights. … Dustin, I don’t know.

He laid his gloves down in his last fight, then he’s coming out and he’s saying he’ll do another one but like, as a retirement fight. I don’t know. I’m not really interested in kicking someone on the way out the door,” Hooker continued. “Gaethje, that’s obviously a fight fan’s dream, that right there. Someone new, there’s something there that fans have wanted to see for a very long time and finally kind of makes sense.”

“The Diamond” originally looked set to hang up the gloves following his failed title bid opposite Islam Makhachev this past June, but he’s since recommitted to the continuation of his fighting career for the time being.

And Poirier could even be set for two more outings should the Louisiana-held UFC event at which he hopes to retire not be scheduled until the second half of 2025.

For now, it would appear fans can cut Hooker from their speculation when it comes to Poirier’s final foe/s. That is, unless “The Diamond’s” pitch for a BMF tournament comes to fruition…

Read More: Chael Sonnen Says Dustin Poirier & Others Flirt With Retirement To Receive Praise

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UFC CEO Dana White Open to Dustin Poirier’s Four-Man BMF Tournament

UFC CEO Dana White Open to Dustin Poirier’s Four-Man BMF Tournament Dana White is down with a four-man BMF tournament. During an appearance on SiriusXM’s MMA Today podcast, three-time lightweight…

Dana White is down with a four-man BMF tournament.

During an appearance on SiriusXM’s MMA Today podcast, three-time lightweight title challenger Dustin Poirier suggested a four-man tourney to determine who the baddest motherf*cker in mixed martial arts truly is.

“Now that excites me. Because that kind of stuff is for the dogs. That’s like old Pride days or Grand Prix,” Poirier said. “That’s a real BMF. If you can fight a tournament in one night, multiple opponents, that’s the definition of BMF. That would be it. If they put that together and it was a one-night tournament, that would be it” (h/t BJPenn.com).

Reacting to the idea following Tuesday’s episode of Dana White’s Contender Series, the UFC CEO gave it his stamp of approval.

“Sounds fun. Never thought about it, but yeah, I love it.”

Thus far, there have been three BMF titleholders since the belt was first introduced in 2019. Jorge Masvidal became the inaugural BMF champion via a third-round doctor’s stoppage TKO against Nate Diaz at UFC 266. ‘Gamebred’ never defended the belt and essentially vacated it after walking away from the UFC following a four-fight losing streak last year.

Justin Gaethje claimed the title in July 2023 with a second-round head kick KO against Dustin Poirier, but his time with the title was cut short by Max Holloway, who made a highlight out of ‘The Highlight’ via a buzzer-beating knockout at UFC 300 in April.

Holloway is currently scheduled to challenge Ilia Topuria for the featherweight world title on October 26 at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi.

Nate Diaz tells dana white to get those ‘2 nerds’ out of proposed BMF title Tournament

Getting wind of Poirier’s idea, Nate Diaz approved of the idea, but not all the participants.

“@DanaWhite Dan [Hooker] and Max [Holloway] are eligible for my belt.” Nate Diaz wrote on his Instagram story, responding to Poirier’s recent comments. “But get those other [two] nerds out of there they don’t fit the description.”

Diaz calling the BMF title “my belt” is an interesting choice of words considering he never once held it. And suggesting that Poirier and Gaethje — two of the most beloved strikers in the game — “don’t fit the description” of a BMF is also pretty wild.

If you could pick any four fighters to compete in a one-night BMF title tournament, who would be in your bracket?

Dana White Shuts Down Rumors of Conor McGregor Ducking Justin Gaethje: ‘I Don’t Know If That’s True’

Dana White isn’t buying Ali Abdelaziz’s recent claim that Conor McGregor turned down a fight with Justin Gaethje on…

Dana White isn’t buying Ali Abdelaziz’s recent claim that Conor McGregor turned down a fight with Justin Gaethje on five different occasions.

During a recent interview with Submission Radio, Abdelaziz, the manager of top MMA fighters including Kayla Harrison, Kamaru Usman, Henry Cejudo, and Gaethje, claimed that the Irish megastar was offered to scrap with the former BMF titleholder, but refused to do so after ‘The Highlight’ had talked trash about him on social media.

”[Conor McGregor] got offered this fight at least five times,” Abdelaziz said. “He never wanted to have to do anything with Justin Gaethje. He said the reason he didn’t want to fight Justin was because Justin talked bad to him on Twitter and Instagram before and the history we have with him. He didn’t want to lose to our team, I guess.”

Dana White disputes Abdelaziz’s claim about conor McGregor

Asked if there’s any truth to Abdelaziz’s comments, White denied the statement suggesting that the promotion has never had a problem with McGregor accepting a fight no matter who the opponent.

”I don’t know if that’s true,” White said following Tuesday’s episode of DWCS. “I’ve said this many times and I’ll say it again, I mean, we actually have video footage of Lorenzo and I walking into his [McGregor] house that he was renting here. He just woke up, telling him the fight fell out, and he’s literally leaving going, ‘Well, I’m going to train, let me know who I’m fighting when I get back.’ We’ve never had those kind of issues with Conor McGregor.’

McGregor may be willing to step inside the Octagon with anyone, the former two-division titleholder hasn’t made competing a big priority in recent years. In June, he was scheduled to headline UFC 303 against former Bellator champion ‘Iron’ Michael Chandler before bowing out due to a broken pinky toe.

Chandler has since opted to move on and will now face Charles Oliveira at UFC 309 next month. As for McGregor, there’s still no date for when fans can expect to see him compete. Previously, McGregor was rumored to fight at UFC 296 in December. When that didn’t happen, everyone assumed he would return at UFC 300 in April. Clearly, that didn’t happen.

Now early 2025 appears to be the plan, but don’t expect to find anyone holding their breath in anticipation.

UFC’s Dustin Poirier Suggests 4-Man ‘BMF’ Tournament with Gaethje, Holloway, Hooker

UFC veteran Dustin Poirier has an interesting suggestion for his retirement fight that would pit him against some of the most exciting fighters in the…

Dustin Poirier Praised For Wanting Hard Match Up As Potential Next Fight: ‘You Can’t Ask Anything More…’

Dustin Poirier recently received accolades from MMA analysts for expressing his desire to take on a stylistically challenging opponent in his next fight. “The Diamond” came up short in his third—and possibly final—quest for the undisputed UFC lightweight title against reigning champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 302 this past June. Poirier endured a grueling back-and-forth […]

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Dustin Poirier recently received accolades from MMA analysts for expressing his desire to take on a stylistically challenging opponent in his next fight.

“The Diamond” came up short in his third—and possibly final—quest for the undisputed UFC lightweight title against reigning champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 302 this past June. Poirier endured a grueling back-and-forth battle before ultimately succumbing to a submission in the fifth round.

After his setback, Poirier hinted that his last appearance in the Octagon might be behind him. However, just a few weeks later, the former UFC interim champion experienced a shift in perspective, revealing that he still feels a strong desire to fight—provided the matchup is enticing enough for him.

It appears that “The Diamond” has put an intriguing bout in place for himself, as he recently teased on X his desire to settle the score with Justin Gaethje in a highly anticipated trilogy match.

Trilogy?

— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) September 24, 2024

Considering Poirier’s 1-1 record against “The Highlight”, MMA analysts Josh Thomson and “Big” John McCarthy praised his determination to pursue challenging matchups, even as he nears the later stages of his career.

Thomson Says Poirier Never Wants The ‘Easy Road’ In His Career

During a recent episode of the WEIGHING IN podcast, both Thompson and McCarthy lauded Poirier for considering a trilogy bout with Gaethje. “The Punk” noted that the 35-year-old Louisiana native is driven by the prospect of facing Gaethje and never hesitates to embrace the toughest challenges in his career.

“The fact that Dustin’s calling for the fight means that this guy motivates him enough to say, ‘You know what? Let’s run this back; let’s do it a third time; let’s give the fans what they want,’” Thomson said. “I’ve never looked at Dustin as someone who wants the easy road; he’s not that guy.”

McCarthy remarked that the opponents “The Diamond” has faced over his career embody the highest level of competition in the UFC lightweight division, and that is truly commendable.

“If you’re going to look at it from a certain point, you know everybody he was fighting was either a champion or a former champion,” McCarthy said. “We’re talking top of the food chain with every guy that he was fighting, and it’s just amazing. You know, I think it was from the Dan Hooker fight; I could be wrong, but I mean, just crazy who that guy has been fighting. You can’t ask anything more from a fighter than what you get from Dustin Poirier.”

Poirier suffered a devastating knockout at the hands of “The Highlight” in their rematch for the ‘BMF’ title at UFC 291 in July 2023. However, in their initial encounter back in April 2018, Poirier emerged victorious, finishing Gaethje after an intense showdown.

Read More: Dustin Poirier’s Teammate Hints At Date & Opponent For His Final UFC Fight (Exclusive)

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Top 5 Most Iconic Moments in Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Career

In the eyes of many, Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of, if not the greatest mixed martial artists of all…

In the eyes of many, Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of, if not the greatest mixed martial artists of all time.

Walking away from the sport in 2020 amid an impressive 29-0 run and a UFC lightweight world title reign, ‘The Eagle’ has continued to have a significant impact in the sport through those he trains — most notably the UFC’s current 155-pound champion, Islam Makhachev. Nurmagomedov has also helped his cousins, Usman and Umar Nurmagomedov achieve greatness in the cage.

The former is the reigning Bellator lightweight champion while the latter is the UFC’s No. 2 ranked bantamweight and is the odds-on favorite to challenge new titleholder Merab Dvalishvili.

But we’re not here to talk about their accomplishments. Today, we look back at the five greatest moments of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s illustrious career.

No. 5 – ‘The Eagle’ Makes his Debut at UFC 148

When talking about the best moments in Nurmagomedov’s career, it’s probably best to start at the very beginning. On July 7, 2012, ‘The Eagle’ introduced himself to fight fans at UFC on FX 1 against WEC veteran Kamal Shalorus.

Nurmagomedov put on a relentless pace from the get-go and dominated the ‘Prince of Persia’ before finishing things just past the two-minute mark of the third round with a rear-naked choke. It was just the first of 13 total fights Nurmagomedov would win inside the Octagon, including seven finishes.

No. 4 – Khabib Chokes out ‘The Diamond’

After securing a successful defense of the UFC lightweight championship 11 months prior, Nurmagomedov returned to headline UFC 242 against a streaking Dustin Poirier at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi — otherwise known as Fight Island. The Diamond’ went into the bout riding a massive wave of momentum, earning wins over Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis, Justin Gaethje, Eddie Alvarez, and Max Holloway.

Many thought that Poirier’s impeccable boxing skills would get the job done against the Dagestani’s grapple-heavy attack. Unfortunately for fans of Poirier, that was not the case.

Khabib dominated the fight with his relentless pressure and smothering top game before finally forcing the Lafayette, Louisiana native to tap out before the halfway point of the third round. With Poirier walking into the bout as the interim lightweight champion, ‘The Eagle’ successfully unified the belts and further established himself as one of the P4P best in the world.

khabib nurmagomedov dustin poirier ufc 242 18

No. 3 – Dominating Michael Johnson

Though it was his eighth career fight inside the Octagon, Khabib Nurmagomedov had not quite reached superstar status — until this fight.

At the time, Johnson had established himself as a formidable foe going 5-2 in his last seven fights, including wins over Joe Lauzon, Gleison Tibau, Edson Barboza, and Dustin Poirier. However, he was no match for the Dagestani. As Johnson tried to let his hands go, Nurmagomedov took ‘The Menace’ down swiftly and completely overwhelmed the American on the mat.

While in top control, ‘The Eagle’ infamously yelled at Dana White cageside, lobbying for a UFC title fight in the middle of a scrap. Nurmagomedov’s ability to nullify an elite striker while simultaneously negotiating with the promotion’s CEO made the undefeated star must-see TV overnight.

Khabib Nurmagomedov talking with Michael Johnson while mauling him on the ground:

"Let's go get up! get up Michael…"

Khabib was something else man pic.twitter.com/PtMad06udK

— ?????????? (@Sa_Gwang) June 3, 2024

No. 2 – Nurmagomedov Retires Undefeated

Nurmagomedov’s final career fight came against one of the UFC’s most celebrated strikers, Justin Gaethje. ‘The Highlight’ earned his shot via a five-round shellacking of former interim titleholder Tony Ferguson at UFC 249. Gaethje hoped to deliver a similar performance, but ‘The Eagle’ had other plans.

Despite carrying the heartache of losing his father three months prior, Nurmagomedov was on top form during their UFC 254 headliner in Abu Dhabi.

As he’d done so many times before, Nurmagomedov’s relentless pressure right out of the gate put Gaethje into survival mode early. 94 seconds into the second round, things came to an end after ‘The Eagle’ seamlessly transitioned into a triangle choke and put Gaethje to sleep.

Following the win, an emotional Nurmagomedov announced to the world that he was officially retiring from the sport, vowing to never fight again following the loss of his father. He walked away with a perfect 29-0 record and three title defenses against three of the absolute best fighters the lightweight division has ever seen.

No. 1 – Khabib Throws Down with Conor McGregor

This one should come as no surprise.

Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor was without a doubt the most anticipated fight in UFC history. It was just a battle between the two biggest names in the lightweight division — it was a clash of larger-than-life superstars who had completely dominated the competition up to that point. Adding to the intrigue of their matchup was the all-too-real hatred between the two combatants.

Long before the two titans stepped into the Octagon at UFC 229, McGregor and Nurmagomedov made headlines after the Irishman and his entourage infamously attacked a bus they believed was carrying the Dagestani. McGregor launched a dolly into one of the vehicle’s windows, shattering a glass that caused both injury and trauma to fighters onboard, including ‘Thug’ Rose Namajunas and Michael Chiesa.

Once the two were locked inside the cage, it was clear that Nurmagomedov was levels above the former two-division titleholder. ‘The Eagle’ dominated the action from the opening bell up until the moment he forced ‘Mystic Mac’ to tap out via a rear-naked choke at the 3:03 mark of round four. Of course, the fight was far from done.

Immediately after winning, Nurmagomedov hopped the fence and went after McGregor’s corner — specifically the Irish megastar’s BJJ coach, Dillon Danis, who had been talking trash to Nurmagomedov from the sidelines.

McGregor vs. Nurmagomedov had everything. Drama, chaos, technical mastery, and the highest of stakes. That’s why their iconic clash in Las Vegas is still one of the highest gates in UFC history and the hottest-selling pay-per-view of all time, securing 2.4 million buys.