Dan Hooker obtains visa, will fight at UFC 266

By Cole Shelton - September 19, 2021

Dan Hooker vs. Nasrat Haqparast is a go for UFC 266.

Dan Hooker

Hooker was campaigning to fight on this card for weeks before and about five weeks out, BJPENN.com reported he would be facing Haqparast. The fight was then confirmed but there have been major hurdles in making it happen due to New Zealand being locked down and Hooker being unable to train.

Yet, recently, Hooker revealed he is having trouble getting his visa and took to social media to plea to the US embassy to fast track it. He was then set to meet with them on Monday and if all went well, he would get on a flight from New Zealand and arrive in Vegas on Thursday night, cut weight, weigh-in Friday and fight Saturday. It all came down to the wire but on Sunday night in North America and Monday in New Zealand, Hooker revealed he got his visa and will be fighting at UFC 266.

“Momma we made it,” Hooker said in the video which he captioned “Squeaky wheel gets the oil.”

Just a couple of days ago it seemed very unlikely Hooker would be able to get his visa in time and fight on UFC 266. However, he ended up pulling it off but will have a hectic week in front of him including having to make weight the night he arrives in Vegas and then fight just a day-and-a-half later.

Dan Hooker enters this fight at UFC 266 against Nasrat Haqparast riding a two-fight losing streak. The Kiwi last fought back in the co-main event of UFC 257 in January where he suffered a first-round TKO loss to Michael Chandler. Prior to that, he suffered a decision loss to Dustin Poirier to snap his three-fight winning streak where he beat Paul Felder, Al Iaquinta, and James Vick.

Who do you think will win at UFC 266, Dan Hooker or Nasrat Haqparast?


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Dan Hooker UFC UFC 266