“They’re Riding Off the Back of Khabib”: Months After I.V. Accusations on Dagestani Camp, Dan Hooker Drops Sensational Claim on Islam Makhachev vs Alexander Volkanovski

Dan Hooker will make his UFC comeback after almost eight months against Jalin Turner. Meanwhile, he recently shared his opinion on Alexander Volkanovski vs. Islam Makhachev at UFC 284. ‘Hangman’ also made some comments about the Dagestani champion’s team in a video posted on the ‘Freestylebender’ channel.

Dan Hooker hasn’t had the best record in his last few fights. He has lost four out of his last six bouts and is looking to turn things around at UFC 290. Meanwhile, he shared his thoughts about Islam Makhachev, whom he accused of using IV fluids during the UFC 284 main event.

Dan Hooker claims Alexander Volkanovski won the fight against Islam Makhachev

The Kiwi fighter sat down with David Adesanya for an interview as he gears up for his return against Jalin Turner. During their conversation, Adesanya asked ‘Hangman’ about his thoughts on the UFC 284 main event. It was Alexander Volkanovski’s first lightweight bout, where he displayed an amazing performance for someone who went into the fight as the underdog. However, he was unable to grab the victory.

Despite Makhachev scoring a majority decision win, Dan Hooker believes that the Aussie was the winner of the contest. He said, “I thought he [Volkanovski] won.” Furthermore, he was there in attendance at the RAC Arena in Perth to support his fellow City Kickboxing teammate. Hooker added, “Sitting there in the crowd before the team, like, I haven’t watched it back or anything like that, but I had Volk winning that fight.”

What makes Khabib’s team exceptional?: Dan Hooker comments

Dan Hooker mentioned that combat sports athletes need to have a strong mental fortitude to be successful in the sport. That is one of the special qualities that Islam Makhachev’s team has. He said, “In combat sports, like, your mental fortitude or the mental game is like a huge aspect of it and that team [Makhachev’s team] carries like a huge aspect of it.”

However, ‘Hangman’ believes that the whole team has gathered that aura of excellence because of Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s success. He said, “Well, they’re [Makhachev’s team] riding off the back of Khabib [Nurmagomedov].” In addition to that, he mentioned how ‘The Egale’ had a mystique around him, from remaining undefeated to retiring from MMA as a dominant champion. Furthermore, Hooker believes that Nurmagomedov’s mystique surrounded Islam Makhachev, and that’s why there is so much hype around him.

“Being undefeated and just the way he went out and the dominant end to his title reign was incredibly impressive and that kind of mystique around that went on to Islam and he was riding on that kind of mystique,” said Hooker.

Hooker also mentioned that Volkanovski took Islam Makhachev to the limit at UFC 284. That’s when others found that he was not unbeatable. He added, “Volk got out there and made him look human… every other fighter on the division is going, ‘Oh, he’s human.‘”

Read More: 5 Years After Intense Brawl With Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor’s Coach Has Surprising Take On “Dagestani Fighters”

It doesn’t look like Dan Hooker is a big fan of Islam Makhachev. Regardless, the Dagestani native is still the champion of the lightweight division. Meanwhile, Dan Hooker is looking to win at UFC 290 to get an inch closer to title contention.

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