Dan Hooker: Islam Makhachev Will Retire Before Fighting Arman Tsarukyan

Dan Hooker believes Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champ Islam Makhachev won’t risk having his throne challenged by Arman Tsarukyan.

Tsarukyan recently announced his arrival in the lightweight title picture with a spectacular knockout win over Beneil Dariush in the main event at UFC Austin on Dec. 2. “Ahalkalakets” subsequently called for a rematch against Makhachev, who defeated Tsarukyan in his UFC debut in 2019. UFC CEO Dana White also admitted that Tsarukyan’s win over Dariush complicates the question of the next title shot at lightweight, which was expected to be given to Charles Oliveira until now.

Hooker, a former opponent of Makhachev’s, said on "The MMA Hour” that he believes the champ will hang up his gloves before facing Tsarukyan. Hooker also thinks that Tsarukyan is too risky a stylistic matchup for Makhachev while not being a big draw.

“He ain’t gonna fight him. I guarantee he’ll retire,” Hooker said. “He’ll retire by the time Arman gets to him for sure… Too risky, there’s too much risk. There’s too many other easier fights out there…Stylistically, the bigger names who are actually gonna sell, like no one’s gonna buy a Arman Tsarukyan pay-per-view. No one’s tuning into the press conference, no one’s giving the $80 for the pay-per-view. You’d rather watch Islam fight [Conor] McGregor or [Justin] Gaethje or someone like that.”

While Tsarukyan had dropped a decision against Makhachev in their initial encounter, “Ahalkalakets” displayed some gritty wrestling against the Dagestani stalwart. Tsarukyan has since lost only one more time in nine outings, a decision against top contender Mateusz Gamrot. The 27-year-old believes he has come into his own as a fighter since his first encounter with Makhachev and is deserving of a rematch next.