Prediction for the fight Islam Makhachev vs Dan Hooker

Recently, fans of mixed martial arts have been actively discussing the prospects of Islam Makhachev in the UFC, who is expected to fully replace Khabib Nurmagomedov. And these expectations have quite good reasons for them, because very soon the Russian prospect may break into the very top of the lightweight league, being one step away from the cherished title chance. Walking on a streak of eight victories, he will fight in a cage against an inveterate representative of the division in the person of Dan Hooker, who at first glance seems to be an easy opponent for him, but, nevertheless, is a guy who can upset anyone and will undoubtedly do everything. to make this fight spectacular and memorable. The face-to-face meeting of the athletes will take place in the maincard of the UFC 267 tournament, which will be held on October 30.

Islam Makhachev vs Dan Hooker

Islam Makhachev

The fifth number of the official rating in the lightweight category and one of the main prospects in the organization's roster at the moment. From an early age he has been engaged in freestyle wrestling and combat sambo, within which he became the world champion and is a master of sports of international class.

In the first two years of his professional career, the athlete fought in various Russian leagues, in which he amassed a 7-0 record. Then he decided to gain a foothold in the M-1 Global promotion, where he quickly went on a streak of four wins. And although they did not get the title chance, these results did not go unnoticed by the UFC leadership. Finding himself in the best organization in the world as a promising prospect, the Russian lost his second fight under his banner by a deaf knockout. But, as expected, this defeat turned out to be nothing more than an accident. Subsequently, he sequentially sorted out eight opponents in a row, none of which came close to beating him.

Strengths

Makhachev is not in vain compared to his teammate and friend Khabib Nurmagomedov, because, like that, the athlete has impressive wrestling skills. In this regard, he is good in absolutely all components, but he shows himself in the best way when carrying out takedowns and controlling opponents directly on the ground.

Even the best abilities cannot be realized without a strong team behind them, which in the case of a Russian leaves nothing to be desired. The best fighters and trainers are involved in his preparation and second, which, of course, has a positive effect on his performances.

Weaknesses

In recent fights, the prospect has shown good standing skills, but, whatever one may say, dominance over the basic wrestlers in this regard is not an indicator. To this day, his striking remains untested by strong representatives of percussion martial arts, which may well prove to be an insurmountable obstacle for him.

The current form and readiness of the fighter

The Russian will enter the fight in question, having in his asset a series of eight victories, the last of which were won by him over Kayan Johnson, Arman Tsarukyan, Davi Ramos, Drew Dober and Thiago Moises. Since his last performance, about three months have passed, which he completely spent on the passage of the camp.

Islam Makhachev vs Dan Hooker

Dan Hooker

Sixth in the league's official lightweight rankings and former champion of the SFC and AFC promotions in the same weight class. Has an impressive kickboxing background with a professional record of 9-1-3, as well as a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Before joining the UFC, Hooker played in various New Zealand, Australian and even Chinese organizations, in which he collected statistics from ten victories and four defeats, and also won the aforementioned championship titles. He began his path in the best promotion in the world with fights in featherweight, but, as it turned out later, this was a wrong decision. Alternating victories and failures over and over again, the prospect realized that this was not what he wanted and moved to the lightweight division. And although since then he has not fought for the championship, his results have become much better and since the change of the division are represented by eight victories and three defeats.

Strengths

Thanks to many years of training, including in one of the best specialized halls in City Kickboxing, the athlete now deserves the title of a skilled kickboxing expert. In terms of this martial art, his fighting style is represented by developed combinatorial skills, strong clinching and powerful low kicks.

Despite belonging to the lightweight class, the New Zealander is a guy who can knock out opponents. At the same time, he can crank it regardless of the time on the scoreboard, since due to the presence of non-standard strikes in the arsenal, the key of which is the flying knee, it is dangerous at any moment of the battle.

Weaknesses

The fighter has a purple Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu belt and even competed in grappling tournaments, but this, of course, is not enough to compete with top grapplers on the ground. His lack of skills in this regard is especially noticeable in his defense against submissions, which always puts him in a critical position.

The current form and readiness of the fighter

In the last five performances, the athlete took over Al Iaquinta, Paul Felder and Nasrat Hakparast, being weaker than Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler. On a duel against the Russian, he will come out after a month break and the same duration of the camp.

Comparative analysis

As a nominal lightweight, the New Zealander is distinguished by impressive dimensions and surpasses his opponent by 5 and 13 centimeters in height and arm span, respectively. But it is not worth relying heavily on his advantage, since, as practice has shown, smaller fighters with explosive power, which can also include the Russians, do not experience any particular problems trying to reduce the distance with him.

If we compare exclusively in terms of technique in a standing position, then in terms of it, superiority is observed on the side of Hooker, who does a much larger amount of work, performs better in combinatorics and has a wider arsenal. On his feet, he will definitely interrupt Makhachev, but he can turn everything over. And, probably, this will happen, since the difference in the grappling abilities of athletes here is nowhere colossal. The only thing that, at first glance, can save his opponent is his takedown defense skills, which turn out to be useful in four out of five cases. But they have not yet been tested by such strong wrestlers, and the Russian himself surpasses him in speed and can create the very pressure under which the New Zealander constantly begins to back away to the net, near which it will be much easier to transfer him to the ground..

Islam Makhachev vs Dan Hooker Prediction

Hooker will enter this confrontation a month after the last appearance in the cage, which he spent on the passage of the camp. And this definitely deserves respect, but such fights are not won on sheer enthusiasm. Not only will he face a second weight cut in a short time before him, this is a corny bad matchup for him from a stylistic point of view, in which he will be introduced to all the features and advantages of wrestling. Download 1xbet to your phone and place a bet on the favorite!

Prediction: victory of Islam Makhachev.

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