From top to bottom, the lightweight division is full of some of the biggest names in UFC. Conor McGregor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Justin Gaethj are sitting at the top at the moment. However, they are being wildly chased by the hungry title contenders such as Dan Hooker, Charles Oliviera, and Tony Ferguson.
Khabib Nurmagomedov defends his title against Justin Gaethje next. And that leaves Conor McGregor without any opponent for the foreseeable future. Conor is getting impatient to get a fight to the point that he decided to retire unless UFC gives him an intriguing fight.
This might be a huge opportunity for Dan Hooker who takes on Dustin Poirier this weekend. This is a big opportunity for the Diamond too. A dominant win over Dan Hooker will allow Poirier to make a strong case for the rematch with Conor McGregor.
Conor McGregor or Title shot? What’s next for Dan Hooker
It’s to be considered that Dustin Poirier has a win over Justin Gaethje. And Conor might decide to fight the former interim champion while Gaethje fights Khabib for the undisputed title.
For Dan Hooker, a fight against Conor McGregor is unlikely even if he manages to get the victory over Dustin Poirier. And the loser of Gaethje vs Nurmagomedov should fight Tony Ferguson considering Conor fights for the title next. It needs to be considered that Ferguson agreed for the Gaethje fight on short notice despite the chaotic situation.
It’s safe to say that UFC owes Ferguson to give one more opportunity to fight for the title without having him go through the entire division again.
So where does Dan Hooker even if he wins against Poirier? There is one more strong title contender in the division who is on a 7 fight win streak. And that’s Charles Oliviera. Now the seven fight win streak of Hooker looks more impressive that Oliviera’s. However, Hooker is unlikely to get a fight against Conor McGregor or the lightweight champion.
Besides that, if Tony Ferguson can make an early return to the octagon then a fight between him and Hooker for the next challenger spot also makes sense. And the loser of Khabib vs Justin and Dustin Poirier can fight each other granted Dan Hooker wins this weekend.
It’s an exciting time in the lightweight division with so many good fights that can be made. And by the looks of it, Dustin Poirier vs Dan Hooker can unsolve a lot of puzzles in the division.
