Dan Hooker believes Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov’s opponents are often intimidated before the fight starts.
Hooker (24-12 MMA, 14-8 UFC) experienced it first hand when he faced current lightweight champion Makhachev (26-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) at UFC 267 in October 2021. He was submitted in the first round.
When discussing Charles Oliveira, who was dropped and submitted by Makhachev in their title fight at UFC 280, Hooker explained the mental battle of going up against dominant fighters like Makhachev and Nurmagomedov.
“The myth of it is bigger than the actual task, and they kind of ride off the back of the myth of Khabib, and that’s bled into Makhachev, and you can see it,” Hooker told Submission Radio. “It definitely affected me. It’s bigger than the actual guy. If you just boil it down to the actual guy, it makes it quite a bit simpler.”
Makhachev is expected to make his next title defense in a rematch against Arman Tsarukyan, which is being discussed as the UFC 311 headliner Jan. 18 in Inglewood, Calif. In their first fight, which was Tsarukyan’s UFC debut, Makhachev outgrappled him in a back-and-forth battle.
Hooker predicts their rematch to have a more definitive ending.
“Islam (is) very defensively sound on the feet,” Hooker said. “And I feel like once he has more time to study and break down Arman’s counter-wrestling, I think it will be a more dominant win for Islam in the second fight.”
Since losing to Makhachev, Hooker has won three of his past four, most recently edging out Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 305 in August.
