Dan Hooker shares eye-opening take on how Usman Nurmagomedov destroyed "the myth that Khabib built" in fight with Paul Hughes: "He humanized himself"

Dan Hooker has, like many, opined that the mystique of the Nurmagomedov clan was shattered following Usman Nurmagomedov's hard-fought win over Paul Hughes. The aforementioned two lightweights competed for the Bellator 155-pound title at PFL Champions Series 1.

Despite winning by the skin of his teeth, Usman was regarded poorly due to his performance. He struggled to outwrestle Hughes, which is a Nurmagomedov specialty. Moreover, he tired sigificantly during the bout, despite having more five-round experience than Hughes.

In fact, Hooker believes that Usman confessing to tiring and feeling pain greatly damaged the image of the Dagestani contingent cultivated by the great Khabib Nurmagomedov.

"When have you ever seen one of the Dagestani boys get on the microphone and say that they were tired, they got hurt, they got pushed to the absolute breaking point? We've not. We've seen them in tough fights before, but we've never seen one of them get on the microphone and admit. I think that was an error. All he had to do was do what the others did. Do what the myth that Khabib built and created and Islam [Makhachev] and guys like Khamzat [Chimaev] were able to carry on."

That Usman wasn't stereotypically reserved in his post-fight speech was a detriment to the aura of invincibility of the Dagestani clan.

"All he had to do was get on the microphone and say, 'Smash. I'll smash anyone' and put the microphone down and walk off. That's all that Khamzat has to say, that's all that Islam has to say. Just shut up, keep it short, keep it simple, and say, 'He smash, he smash everyone' and then everyone would have forgotten that Usman and Paul Hughes had a close fight. Enough time passes by, Usman is still undefeated, this big, crazy, scary Russian dude. But he humanized himself."

Check out Dan Hooker's thoughts on Usman Nurmagomedov (0:17):

Now, many in the MMA community have labeled Usman's win over Hughes as a robbery, with no other fight but a rematch on Hughes' mind in particular.

---

Dan Hooker has past experience with Nurmagomedov clan

Before Islam Makhachev's ascension to UFC lightweight championship status, he was dispatching the lower end of the division, coming across a short-notice Dan Hooker at UFC 267. The bout was as lopsided as can be, with the Dagestani phenom submitting Hooker within two minutes.

Check out Islam Makhachev submitting Dan Hooker:

Thereafter, Hooker has taken every opportunity to poke fun or taunt Makhachev, even accusing him of using IVs (intravenous fluids) beyond what is allowed to rehydrate more easily from weight cuts.