UFC 267 Preview: Islam Makhachev vs. Dan Hooker
Islam Makhachev is stepping up at UFC 267 and taking on the toughest fight of his career in Dan Hooker. The fight is supposed to be the coming out party for Makhachev but don’t count Dan Hooker out. His length and Makhachev’s willingness to box could make this fight a lot closer than one would believe.
If you haven’t yet, check out my breakdown on Jan Blachowicz vs. Glover Teixeira and Petr Yan vs. Cory Sandhagen!
Dan Hooker looking to bounce back at UFC 267
Dan Hooker was on the receiving end of two tough losses to Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler. He came back to beat Nasrat Haqparast but that win isn’t one to laud over. Beating a surging Islam Makhachev, however, is. Makhachev is the second coming of Jesus Ch…I mean, Khabib. But there are some major differences between Khabib and Makhachev. First, Khabib is a wrestle at all costs fighter where as Makhachev is more of a mixed martial artist and is willing to stand. Makhachev is being lauded as the next Khabib is dishonest by media (or ignorant) and Hooker and his incredibly adept team at City Kickboxing likely know this.
Dan Hooker’s nickname is “The Hangman” and that’s for good reason. While he’s seen primarily as a striker, Hooker has a very good ground game. That said, he only has two win by submission and uses his grappling to unleash some ground and pound. In this fight, however, Dan Hooker should not enter any grappling exchanges unless Makhachev is hurt. Period. Hooker needs to use this large cage on Fight Island to keep Makhachev away and on the end of his long jab. In addition to keeping the distance with his hands, the calf kick will also be a benefit for Hooker as well. The legs are always the front, especially with a slip. In addition to that, it will weaken the legs of the wrestler, making his takedowns more laborious and harder to finish. Hooker will have to deal with the striking of Makhachev as well. In his last fight against Thiago Moises, Makhachev understood distance and slipped well. Hooker would do well to feint and feint often.
One other things Hooker needs to do is stay off the fence at all costs. With the minds of Israel Adesanya, Alexander Volkanovski, and more, Hooker would be daft not to take their insight on this. Against the fence is where Makhachev, like Khabib before him, thrives. We saw Hooker back up to the fence against Michael Chandler which led to his knockout. This time, it won’t be an overhand right coming his way; it will be a man shooting for his hips. Hooker needs to make sure to circle out and give Makhachev as few shots at the hips as possible.
Is Makhachev Legit?
On the other side of the ring is Islam Makhachev who the UFC wants to be great so bad. Standing on the shoulders of Khabib, the UFC is latching on to whatever they can from Khabib’s legacy after his early retirement. Makhachev is not Khabib as pointed out up top. He faces danger on the feet with his willingness to box. I don’t know if it’s his love of the hands or his insecurity of not being Khabib-level of MMA wrestling, but Makhachev will have to get over that at UFC 267.
To beat Hooker, Makhachev will have to set out to get to the ground from the onset. While he will have to strike to start, he shouldn’t wait too long to shoot. With the coaching tools at Hooker’s side, Makhachev will likely take this approach. Hooker’s game plan will take a couple rounds to start to actually work where as Makhachev can implement his at any time. The goal here should be to back Hooker to the fence and shoot the hips. Make him tired early and grind the fight out.
Makhachev will want to stay away from a kickboxing match with Hooker for the most part. With Khabib in his corner, I look for that to be the case unless Islam Makhachev gets too cocky for his own good. A wrestler falling in love with the hands is a classic trope in MMA and Makhachev is the perfect type of fighter to do just that if it weren’t for his coaches in Khabib and Javier Mendes.
I look for this to be a long fight for both fighters. Fortunately, it’s only a three rounder. If you’ve got a gun to your head and you’re forced to pick, I would urge you to go with Islam Makhachev. But don’t be surprised when Hooker does better than most expect. The fight is honestly quite winnable for Hooker with the relatively low level of competition Makhachev has faced.
