Dan Hooker, a known name in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight division, has some thoughts. He’s got his eyes on the current champ, Islam Makhachev. Hooker thinks Makhachev won’t be too keen on risking his title against Arman Tsarukyan.
Tsarukyan, if you didn’t know, recently made some waves. He announced his arrival in the lightweight title picture in a big way. How? With a spectacular knockout win over Beneil Dariush at UFC Austin on Dec. 2.
After his win, Tsarukyan called out Makhachev. He wants a rematch. The two first faced off in Tsarukyan’s UFC debut in 2019, a fight Makhachev won. UFC CEO Dana White has even admitted that Tsarukyan’s win over Dariush complicates the question of the next title shot at lightweight.
Until now, that shot was expected to be given to Charles Oliveira. But now? Who knows.
Hooker, who has faced Makhachev in the past, shared his thoughts on “The MMA Hour”. He believes Makhachev will retire before facing Tsarukyan again. According to Hooker, Tsarukyan is too risky a stylistic matchup for Makhachev and not a big enough draw.
Hooker was pretty blunt about it: “He ain’t gonna fight him. I guarantee he’ll retire,” Hooker said. “He’ll retire by the time Arman gets to him for sure… Too risky, there’s too much risk. There’s too many other easier fights out there…Stylistically, the bigger names who are actually gonna sell, like no one’s gonna buy an Arman Tsarukyan pay-per-view. No one’s tuning into the press conference, no one’s giving the $80 for the pay-per-view. You’d rather watch Islam fight [Conor] McGregor or [Justin] Gaethje or someone like that.”
Tsarukyan lost to Makhachev in their first encounter, but he’s shown some serious grit since then. He’s only lost one more time in nine outings, a decision against top contender Mateusz Gamrot. Now, at 27, Tsarukyan believes he’s grown as a fighter since his first encounter with Makhachev. He’s confident he’s earned the right to a rematch.