Islam Makhachev’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz believes Dan Hooker only took the fight at UFC 267 due to the payday.
After Rafael dos Anjos was forced out of his fight on October 30 against Makhachev, many wondered who would step up. Ultimately, Hooker decided to step up on short notice but for Abdelaziz, he doesn’t think Hooker has a shot and instead, only took the fight for the payday.
“It seems like people are more interested in this fight than Rafael dos Anjos fight, and Rafael is a former champion,” Abdelaziz, the CEO of Dominance MMA, told MMA Junkie. “I don’t know why, but listen, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who you’re gonna put in there. If I have to rank Islam today in the pound-for-pound list, I promise you he’s top five pound for pound. I believe he will be one of the greatest UFC fighters we’ve ever seen. I’ve been training with Islam for seven years. I see him beating DC (Daniel Cormier) around, beating Luke (Rockhold), giving Khabib his toughest rounds. I believe he’s something special. I believe he’s destined to be a world champion, and people can say whatever they want about him. They know in their heart and soul that he’s the toughest fight they can ever get.
“Much respect to Hooker, they can say whatever they want. He’s showing up for a payday, and I respect Hooker a lot. He’s a nice guy,” Abdelaziz continued. “I respect him as a fighter, too, but he can say whatever he wants, his coaches can say whatever they want, he’s getting paid to show up. The only way he can win is a lucky punch. Islam beats people every second of a fight. Islam is never vulnerable in a fight. People are going to say, ‘Oh, he’s boring, he’s this, he’s that.’ They said this about Khabib for a long time. Khabib is pound-for-pound the greatest fighter to ever live on this planet.”
Although Ali Abdelaziz claims Dan Hooker is only taking the Islam Makhachev fight because of his payday, there’s no question the Kiwi is confident he can win the fight and work towards the belt.
