Arman Tsarukyan recently expressed his wish to fight Islam Makhachev following his impressive KO win over Beneil Dariush. However, fellow lightweight contender Dan Hooker believes that Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s protégé may not fight ‘Ahalkalakets’. He recently appeared on ‘The MMA Hour’ and opined on the possibility of Makhachev fighting Tsarukyan.

Arman Tsarukyan shocked the world when he knocked out Beneil Dariush in the very first round of their fight at UFC Austin. Thereafter, he promised to knock out Islam Makhachev, who was also his first UFC opponent. But Dan Hooker begs to differ as he shared his thoughts about that fight. Let’s see what he had to say.

Fighting Arman Tsarukyan is “too risky” for Islam Makhachev

During the interview with Ariel Helwani, Dan Hooker doubled down on the fact that Islam Makhachev will never fight Arman Tsarukyan. He believes that the reigning lightweight champion will retire before that fight even comes to mind, and might consider some of the easier fights. Hooker said, “He ain’t gonna fight him. I guarantee he’ll retire. He’ll retire before Arman [gets to the title] for sure. [It’s] too risky. There’s too many easier fights out there.”

The problem with Islam Makhachev fighting Arman Tsarukyan lies with the drawing power of the Armenian-Russian fighter. Dan Hooker doesn’t think people will pay enough money to watch Tsarukyan fight for the title due to the lack of his star power. “No one’s gonna buy an Arman Tsarukyan pay-per-view… No one’s tuning in for the press conference [and] no one’s paying the $80 for the PPV,” said ‘The Hangman’. Instead, he believes Makhachev can take a much easier route by fighting two other lightweight contenders.

The lightweight champion could opt for a fight against Conor McGregor or Justin Gaethje

Most promotions seek to set up the biggest fights and make the most money out of it. Similarly, Dan Hooker believes that it would be better for Islam Makhachev to fight someone who can help make that big-money fight possible. The two possible contenders are Conor McGregor and BMF champion Justin Gaethje. Hooker further stated, “You’d rather watch Islam fight McGregor or Gaethje or something like that.”

When Ariel Helwani mentioned that Islam Makachev was also in the same place as Arman Tsarukyan is right now, building himself up, Dan Hooker had an appropriate response for that. He mentioned how the lightweight champion’s fan base in the UAE has grown over the last couple of years. This is why nobody can question how big of influence Makhachev has in the UFC. “I think you could have said that [the same thing he said about Tsarukyan] before they started getting all that money… the UAE money. Now you can’t say it. Now they got deep pockets,” ‘The Hangman’ added.

Read More: Aiming Vengeance, Islam Makhachev’s 170 Lbs Move Denounced by Former Lightweight Opponent for a Rematch- “Give Him a Tough Fight”

Islam Makhachev has been at the top of the lightweight division for a while now. His recent knockout win over Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294 has earned him even more praise. Makhachev is now aiming for a double champion status and going for the welterweight title. This could mean that a fight against Arman Tsarukyan may not be in the books for a considerable amount of time. We will have to wait and see how that unfolds in the future.

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