Dan Hooker believes current UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is beatable and has named three fighters he thinks are capable of dethroning ‘The Eagle’.
Hooker (18-8 MMA) will return to action in the co-headliner of next month’s highly anticipated UFC 243 event where he will square off with former title challenger Al Iaquinta.
If ‘The Hangman’ can emerge victorious against ‘Raging Al’ he could be just one more win away from an eventual showdown with the UFC’s reigning lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov.
‘The Hangman’ recently sat down with The Score MMA‘s James Lynch where he discussed which fighters could potentially offer the undefeated Russian some problems.
“Yeah I think there are a lot of guys in the top ten who could give him trouble,” Dan Hooker said. “I feel like (Justin) Gaethje will give him a lot of trouble. I fee like, just stylistically, all this whole sport comes down to is how we match up stylistically. I feel like Kevin Lee would give, you know they just have the style. They have the style to match the wrestling, or to outpace him in the wrestling. I feel like Gaethje is the worst matchup for Khabib Nurmagomedov at this stage. But I feel like Gaethje, Cowboy (Cerrone) or Kevin Lee would give him an immense amount of trouble.”
Dan Hooker is coming off a spectacular first round knockout victory over James Vick in his most recent Octagon appearance at July’s UFC on ESPN 4 event in San Antonio.
That victory earned ‘The Hangman’ a performance of the night honors, marking the third bonus Dan has picked up during his UFC career.
Meanwhile, Khabib Nurmagomedov was last seen in action early this month in Abu Dhabi, where he submitted Dustin Poirier to once again become the promotions undisputed lightweight champion of the world.
Do you agree with Dan Hooker that Justin Gaethje, Kevin Lee and Donald Cerrone pose the biggest threats to Khabib Nurmagomedov and his lightweight title? Sound off in the comments section PENN Nation!
This article first appeared on BJPENN.com September 21, 2019