Islam Makhachev's manager praises the Russian athlete and doubts Dan Hooker's victory

A. Abdelaziz alongside his client I.Makhachev. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram

In Ali Abdelaziz's opinion, the duel between his client Islam makhachev e Dan Hooker No. UFC 267 has a very clear favorite. In an interview with ‘MMA Junkie‘, the famous businessman praised the New Zealander's courage in accepting the duel just a few days in advance, but, he sees little chance of the Russian fighter being defeated on October 30th.

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“If I have to rank Islam today on the pound-for-pound list of fighters, I promise he’s in the top five. I believe he will be one of the greatest fighters we have ever seen in the UFC. I have been training with Makhachev for seven years. I see him knocking on Daniel Cormier, hitting Luke Rockhold, giving Khabib (Nurmagomedov) his toughest rounds. I think he's special. I believe he is destined to be a world champion and people can say whatever they want about him,” said Ali.

The Russian athlete's manager praised Dan Hooker, but, he sees minimal chances of the New Zealander winning the fight scheduled for October 30th.

“I have a lot of respect for Hooker, but, they can say whatever they want. He's just showing up for a payment. He's a nice guy. I respect him as a fighter, but he can say whatever he wants, his coaches can say whatever they want, but he's getting paid to show up. The only way he can win is with a lucky punch. Islam beats people every second of a fight. Islam is never vulnerable in a fight. People will say, 'Oh, he's boring, he's this, he's that'. They said that about Khabib for a long time and Khabib is the greatest fighter that ever lived on this planet”, concluded the agent.

Current number five in the lightweight rankings (up to 70,3kg), Islam makhachev is considered one of the most promising names in the division. The Russian sensation hasn't known defeat since October 2015 and is on an incredible streak of eight consecutive victories. In his record, Abdelaziz's client has 20 positive results and only one negative result in his career.

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