Well, Dan Hooker (21-10) is wasting no time getting back into the cage after UFC 266. Just last weekend, Hooker defeated Nasrat Haqparast on the prelims which snapped his two-fight losing streak.
It was a great performance from Hooker who really showed off his wide-range of skills. The fight almost didn’t happen though as Hooker had issues getting a visa to get into the US to fight at UFC 266.
However, the issues were resolved and Hooker fought to victory. We learned last week that Rafael Dos Anjos was potentially going to miss his UFC 267 fight with Islam Makhachev (20-1).
Dos Anjos ended up suffering a knee injury that put the fight in jeopardy. RDA actually had to have surgery but he was still going to try to fight. However, his doctors were going to need to approve it.
Ultimately, the doctors wouldn’t clear him and the UFC was forced to look into other options. They turned right to Hooker and asked if he’d be interested in taking on the dangerous Islam Makhachev. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto broke the news today that Hooker signed and the fight is on at UFC 267.
UFC 267’s New Lightweight Contest
Islam Makhachev has been looked at as a new boogeyman of the lightweight division. He’s seemingly been avoided by many top guys and he’s actually accused Hooker of dodging him in the past.
Well, at UFC 267, he’s going to get his shot against The Hangman. Makhachev will enter the octagon next month riding an eight-fight win streak. The Khabib protégé has all the looks of a future world champion given his skillset.
Some of his coaches actually believe that he’s the evolution of Khabib. While Khabib would take his opponents down and try to smash them, Makhachev is constantly looking for submissions and he’s more advanced on the feet than Khabib was.
This is going to be a real test to see where Makhachev is in his development. If he can defeat Hooker and make it look easy, he will prove to everyone that he belongs in the UFC title conversation. However, if Hooker wins, he will prove that he’s still one of the very best in the world.