Hooker volunteers to welcome unbeaten Nurmagomedov to UFC, doubts Topuria would dare

Dan Hooker has publicly volunteered to fight Usman Nurmagomedov if the unbeaten Dagestani signs with the UFC, insisting that higher-ranked lightweights — including featherweight champion Ilia Topuria — will not take the risk of facing a fighter with a perfect 22-0 record.

Nurmagomedov is the most coveted free agent in MMA after exhausting his PFL contract. The UFC is widely reported to have strong interest in signing him, and the Dagestani has hinted at an Octagon move, though the Professional Fighters League is also working to retain him.

Hooker (24-14) made his case in a conversation with Submission Radio, drawing a direct parallel to his role in welcoming former Bellator champion Michael Chandler to the UFC. “Who’s a better welcoming party? It was the same thing with Chandler; it’s the same thing with this Parnasse guy and it will be the same thing with Usman,” Hooker said. “No one else will take the fight. People are like, ‘Usman’s gonna come in and fight Ilia Topuria.’ Be serious, you think Ilia Topuria is gonna take the risk of fighting an unranked, non-UFC fighter?”

Hooker was blunt about the financial terms he would require, framing the bout as a high-risk assignment that demands appropriate compensation. “None of these other guys in the division want to risk it for the biscuit. So, they call up Dan Hooker; they offer him a bit of danger money and he welcomes these boys to the big leagues.”

Before any potential Nurmagomedov matchup materialises, Hooker has his own assignment to deal with. He faces former two-division KSW champion Salahdine Parnasse (23-2) at UFC Paris on 5 September, a bout he frames in exactly the same terms — as another welcoming job in hostile territory.

Topuria, who holds the UFC featherweight title and has been linked by fans to a lightweight move, has not publicly commented on a potential Nurmagomedov fight. Hooker’s assessment that the Georgian-Spanish champion would sidestep such a matchup remains his own opinion rather than any confirmed position from Topuria’s camp.