Eugene Bareman and Dan Hooker following Hooker's win over Nasrat Haqparast at UFC 266. Photo / Getty Images
Eugene Bareman and Dan Hooker following Hooker's win over Nasrat Haqparast at UFC 266. Photo / Getty Images
Inconveniences are becoming part of Dan Hooker's story.
Whether it's the managed isolation and quarantine system, lockdowns not allowing him to train, or issues securing his visa, the past 18 months have been an interesting time in the career of New Zealand's highest-ranked lightweight UFC fighter.
So, when the callcame on just four weeks notice to fight a top-five opponent who many believe could be a future champion of the division, Hooker was more than willing to sign the contract.
Hooker will take on Russian Islam Makhachev at UFC 267 on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi at the end of the month, just five weeks after his unanimous decision win over Nasrat Haqparast at UFC 266.
Ranked No 6 in the division, the Kiwi was offered the fight after Makhachev's original opponent – No 8 Rafael Dos Anjos – was ruled out due to injury. Speaking to the Herald, Hooker's head coach Eugene Bareman, of Auckland's City Kickboxing gym, said it wasn't a surprise to have the fight offered, particularly with Hooker not being the type of competitor to turn down a fight, but it had to be worth the risk.
"He's doing what he does and he's taking the fight," Bareman said.
"We talked before [the fight was confirmed]. When the UFC's in a pickle, they need you to scratch their back – but they have to scratch Dan's back as well. It took a couple of days for all of that to work itself out, and now we're in a good position where Dan can take that fight, be rewarded for it and, hopefully, at the same time upset an up and comer who a lot of people are putting stock in."
Hooker was due to return to New Zealand from Las Vegas at the weekend, having long secured an MIQ spot which was one of the driving forces behind his quest to fight last month. However, with the opportunity to break into the top five of the division, possibly put himself in the title frame and make some money to provide for his family, he opted to remain in Las Vegas where he will train with renowned wrestling coach and friend of the gym Frank Hickman.
Frank Hickman (left) was in Dan Hooker's corner at UFC 266 alongside Eugene Bareman of City Kickboxing and Joe Lopez of Windang's Freestyle Fighting Gym. Photo / Getty Images
Because Bareman returned home before Hooker was due to and is observing his two weeks in MIQ, Hickman will be Hooker's primary coach for the bout, with the City Kickboxing coaches watching tape and advising Hickman on how to approach the fight.
Bareman will not be making the trip to Abu Dhabi for fight night as he cannot secure an MIQ spot and is not in a position to take the risk of being stranded abroad given he has a family and a gym full of fighters to look after.
With Makhachev primarily being a wrestler and his path to victory usually coming through smothering his opponents until they have nothing left in the tank and earning a stoppage or lopsided decision win, Hickman is the ideal option to lead Hooker's camp in Bareman's absence.
"He'll be going heavy on the wrestling, and Frankie holds some good pads. We're already sending Frankie as much information as we can about what we think we should be doing," Bareman said.
"We'll study Makhachev, come up with the bones of what direction we think he should be going. The other part of that is that direction is not focused just on Dan's strategy and tactics, a big focus has to go in to what is achievable within the timeframe. That's what a lot of people forget about, so we have to keep that in mind when we're feeding him information. There's a lot of information we can give you that we know is only achievable over six, eight or 12 weeks, so that's a special kind of detail you have to give with these sort of short notice fights.
"Dan's taken short notice fights on the back of not much training at all. For this one, Dan's come straight off a fight [but] he's not in lockdown so he's able to get a good amount of training time under the most suited environment, so I don't feel too bad about it. I think Dan can win this fight if we play it right."
