Dan Hooker on Islam Makhachev fight at UFC 267: “This is his party. I’m just here to spoil it”

UFC lightweight Dan Hooker commented on the Islam Makhachev fight at UFC 267, saying that “this is his party. I’m just here to spoil it.”

Hooker takes on Makhachev this Saturday at UFC 267 in what is one of the biggest fights of his career. Hooker took the fight with Makhachev on short notice after Rafael dos Anjos fell off the card. Just a few days after he beat Nasrat Haqparast at UFC 266, Hooker then decided that he would take the chance and fight Makhachev on short notice at UFC 267.

Speaking to the media ahead of Saturday’s big event, Hooker spoke about his upcoming fight with Makhachev. As far as Hooker goes, Makhachev is deserving of all of his praise, but Hooker is looking forward to testing himself against an elite opponent at UFC 267.

“That train of thought never appealed to me, or I never understood discrediting an opponent’s achievements leading into a fight. Because when you beat them, you’re just downplaying your own achievements. I have no intention to nitpick his past or nitpick any of his achievements and kind of downplay them. That’s not even how I approach it mentally,” Hooker said (via MMAjunkie.com).

“I want to fight him because he is a specialist. I want to fight him because there is so much intrigue. I want to fight him because he is considered the best grappler in the division. I want to fight the best people in the world, and he’s considered one of the best people in the world. That’s why I want to fight him. I don’t want to fight him because I think he’s an easy target. It doesn’t make sense to discredit him. He’s deserved everything he’s achieved. This is his party. I’m just here to spoil it. That’s my whole plan.”

Do you think Dan Hooker has what it takes to pull off the upset and beat Islam Makhachev at UFC 267?