Dan Hooker challenges “tickle party” fighter Islam Makhachev to throw down in September

UFC lightweight Dan Hooker has laid down a challenge to Islam Makhachev as their social media spat continues.

This past Saturday night, Makhachev continued his rise up through the 155-pound ranks with a decisive win over Thiago Moises. He controlled the right all the way through until the fourth round when he was finally able to secure a strong submission victory, vaulting himself closer to a potential title shot in the near future.

Hooker, on the other hand, hasn’t fought since January when a swift TKO loss to Michael Chandler handed him his second straight defeat after also losing to Dustin Poirier last year.

Now, he has his sights firmly set on Makhachev – and we don’t think anything is going to distract him from that.

Scared haha check the timeline. I went to war with Felder and Poirier while you were cherping. Both make your fight Saturday look like a tickle party. If you have a problem, we can fight September. @MAKHACHEVMMA

— Dan Hangman Hooker (@danthehangman) July 20, 2021

“Scared haha check the timeline. I went to war with Felder and Poirier while you were cherping. Both make your fight Saturday look like a tickle party. If you have a problem, we can fight September. @MAKHACHEVMMA”

There are few men in the lightweight division as willing to get into a war as Dan Hooker and while he may have been finished quite quickly against Chandler, he isn’t the sort of guy who is just going to fade into the background. He still believes he has what it takes to become a world champion in this promotion, and we’re not so sure he’s wrong.

It’s going to take a great deal of will and effort but if he can get past Makhachev, which is clearly a big “if”, he’ll showcase that he’s been able to learn from his past mistakes.

Do you think Dan Hooker will get the fight against Islam Makhachev? If so, do you think he can win it? Let us know your thoughts on this rivalry down in the comments, BJPENN Nation!