Dan
Hooker believes he’s the perfect fighter to welcome other
lightweights to the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Hooker (24-14) is scheduled to welcome former two-division
KSW champ Salahdine
Parnasse (23-2) to the UFC in enemy territory at
UFC Paris on Sept. 5. With the
Professional Fighters League looking to retain Nurmagomedov
(22-0) and the UFC rumored to have strong interest in the Russian,
Hooker is willing to take on the unbeaten lightweight.
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Dan Hooker offers to welcome Usman Nurmagomedov to the UFC for
‘danger money’
Nurmagomedov is currently the most sought-after free agent in mixed
martial arts after having exhausted his PFL contract. With the
Dagestani hinting at a UFC signing, Hooker believes he is the ideal
opponent for the latest PFL lightweight champ’s Octagon debut.
While some fans are calling for a matchup between Nurmagomedov and
Ilia
Topuria, Hooker is certain Topuria won’t take the risky
matchup. The UFC veteran also believes that most top UFC
lightweights won’t take the same risk and he recently reiterated
that he doesn’t mind putting himself on the line if he’s
compensated accordingly.
Hooker also notes that he has previously welcomed former Bellator
champion Michael
Chandler to the UFC.
“Who’s a better welcoming party? It was the same thing with
Chandler; it’s the same thing with this Parnasse guy and it will be
the same thing with Usman,” Hooker told Submission Radio. “No one
else will take the fight. People are like, ‘Usman’s gonna come in
and fight Ilia Topuria.’ Be serious, you think Ilia Topuria is
gonna take the risk of fighting an unranked, non-UFC fighter? No
one else is willing to take the risk… None of these other guys in
the division want to risk it for the biscuit. So, they call up Dan
Hooker; they offer him a bit of danger money and he welcomes these
boys to the big leagues.”