Dan Hooker on Khabib Nurmagomedov's future: 'If you say you're retired, in my mind you're retired'
ABU DHABI – Dan Hooker doesn’t think UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov returns to the octagon.
When Nurmagomedov (29-0 MMA, 13-0 UFC) met with UFC president Dana White in Abu Dhabi, White claimed Nurmagomedov said he’ll only come out of retirement if someone really impresses him.
Prior to hanging up his gloves, Nurmagomedov notched successful title defenses with finishes of UFC 257 headliners Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier, as well as Justin Gaethje in his most recent outing at UFC 254.
In Saturday’s co-main event, Hooker (20-9 MMA, 10-5 UFC) will welcome Michael Chandler to the UFC in a pivotal lightweight clash. While Hooker is unsure how Nurmagomedov’s decision will impact him personally, he knows there are big implications in his fight with Chandler (21-5 MMA, 0-0 UFC).
“That’s like in the back of my head, what is going to come from this,” Hooker told MMA Junkie. “But I definitely know that something big is going to come from this because it’s high risk and this is the sport of people that take the risks get the rewards. They went down the list trying to find an opponent for Chandler.
“No one wanted to take the risk, and this is the way this sport works: You take the risk. I flew over here. I’m fighting the unknown fighter. I’m taking the risk, so that warrants getting the reward for that, right? Whatever that may be.”
But Hooker doubts Nurmagomedov actually returns and is more concerned with fighting for the title than who holds the belt.
“As far as I’m concerned, the guy says he’s retired,” Hooker said. “If you say you’re retired, in my mind you’re retired. My focus is to fight the best in the world. My focus is to fight whoever is holding the belt, and that’s whoever that may be.”
