UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker dedicated his victory over Narsat Haqparast at UFC 266 to his fallen teammate, Fau Vake.
Hooker defeated Haqparast via unanimous decision at UFC 266 in a lightweight battle between two fighters who barely even made it to their fight. For Hooker, he had visa issues he was facing in New Zealand, not to mention the lack of opponents available to him. Then for Haqparast, his mother passed away last week and he almost had visa issues, as well. Thankfully, the fight went on as planned, with Hooker showing off a dominant, complete MMA game for the win. “The Hangman” not only outstruck his opponent Haqparast, but he also out-grappled him as well in what was one of his most complete performances ever.
Following UFC 266, Hooker took to his social media to issue a short statement following the fight, where he dedicated his win over Haqparast to his fallen friend and teammate Vake, who was killed after being ‘coward punched’ in May. Check out what Hooker wrote below.
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That one was for you Fau. #vakefamforever
Vake was a member of City Kickboxing when he died in May following a cowardly assault on the streets of New Zealand. Despite the fact that Vake was killed in the attack, his attackers were only given six-month sentences for the crime and Hooker was not happy about that. The entire City Kickboxing team, including its leader UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, condemned the justice system in New Zealand for being so light on its punishment towards Vake’s attackers. While the fighters can not do anything as far as the legal system goes, they can go in the Octagon to win their fights and dedicate their wins to their fallen comrade, and that is exactly what Hooker did at UFC 266.
What do you think is next for Dan Hooker after beating Nasrat Haqparast at UFC 266?