Dan Hooker is set to step in to face UFC lightweight contender Islam Makhachev at UFC 267 in a month’s time, according to reports, after the Russian’s previous opponent Rafael Dos Anjos pulled out to undergo knee surgery.
ESPN reporter Brett Okamoto broke the news on Instagram, and says it came straight from UFC president Dana White.
Hooker was last seen in action just this past weekend at UFC 266.
After overcoming visa problems to arrive in Las Vegas a day before the weigh-in, the New Zealander managed to make weight and then beat Nasrat Haqparast on the cards to improve to 28-10.
As game as ever, he will now try his luck against submissions expert Makhachev, who is unbeaten in six years on 20-1 overall, with just four weeks to spare until fight day on October 30 in Abu Dhabi.
Last seen in action in July, where he finished Thiago Moises via a rear-naked choke in the fourth round of a headline bout on ESPN, Makhachev will be pleased to have secured another opponent after a nasty back-and-forth with former lightweight champion Dos Anjos.
“I don’t believe that you’re injured…again,” he wrote on Twitter, while tagging the Brazilian and leaving the hashtag #chickenfever.
Do you really think I would fake a surgery? Coming out of another terrible injury. Unlike you I have a family that depends on me and I don’t have another man paying my bills. https://t.co/PDvQ2rhZsq
“Do you really think I would fake a surgery coming out of another terrible injury?” Dos Anjos asked.
“Unlike you I have a family that depends on me and I don’t have another man paying my bills,” he scathed, in reference to Makhachev’s pal in retired 29-0 great Khabib Nurmagomedov supposedly propping him up.
Makhachev replied with another hashtag that read “Big Drama Show” in the mold of boxer Gennady Golovkin, and then called out a string of other fighters.
“Justin [Gaethje], Dustin [Poirier], Tony [Ferguson], Beniel [Dariush], Hooker, [Michael] Chandler or Floyd Mayweather, doesn’t matter.
“Oct 30 I’ll be in Abu Dhabi,” he raged.
At least now the UFC appears to have delivered one of those names to him.
And Hooker will also be pleased after demanding the fight since the summer when he said that the “boring” rising Russian should “give Khabib his homework back”.
Online, fans hailed the 31-year-old Kiwi for stepping in.
“No freakin’ way. What a savage. This man will get all the street cred…again,” said UFC commentator John Gooden.
“Big respect for dan he is a true fighter,” wrote one fan, while another called Hooker “the real BMF.”
West Ham and Rapid Vienna fans reportedly threw open bottles of urine at each other during a Europa League clash on Thursday night, while elsewhere trouble continued in France when Marseille and Galatasary’s match was suspended.
Thanks to strikes from Declan Rice and Said Benrahma in the 29th and 94th minutes, the Hammers maintained their 100% record thus far in Europe’s second-tier competition.
They sit comfortably atop of Group H on six points, but lamentable scenes in the stands of the London Stadium broke out as England international Rice tapped his effort into the back of the net.
More specifically, the goal sparked conflict between a pocket of home and away fans.
According to reports of accounts from police officers at the match, open bottles of urine were thrown by both sets of supporters while punters on social media suggested that other objects had also been launched.
The trouble died down for what remained of the fixture as Vienna also had a VAR penalty appeal turned down.
But then at full time, certain supporters traveling from Austria in the away end decided to try and take their anger out on police officers.
Confronting the authorities, some were caught on camera allegedly throwing punches at them.
The West Han fans have gone now and the Rapid supporters have decided throwing punches at the police is a good idea pic.twitter.com/mqyW0G2vCy
Kicking off between a section of Rapid Vienna fans who don’t want to leave – some of whom have made it into that corner tunnel – and police at the London Stadium. West Ham fans have long gone. @MirrorFootballpic.twitter.com/13Ahea5syA
Down in France, violence in the stands again came to the forefront with regular offenders Marseille once more front and center.
So out of control was the fracas between their fans and those of visiting Galatasary, as they threw flairs at one another and clashed, that referee Pawel Raczkowski had to pause the action at the Stade Velodrome on 39 minutes.
Match arrêté au stade vélodrome affrontement entre supporters turque et marseillais . pic.twitter.com/B9o7Bqb3FL
Yet the debacle is just the latest in a long line of such incidents that have plagued French football this season.
On opening weekend of the new 2021/2022 Ligue 1 campaign, Nice and Marseille fans rioted when Payet threw a bottle into the crowd that had been aimed at him during a postponed tie set to be replayed on October 27 at a neutral ground.
Then last month, the Marseille faithful did battle with their Metz counterparts in another 0-0 stalemate as Lille vs Lens also had to be halted.
Fans have reacted in horror after images of the new eFootball offering from Japanese gaming giants Konami were shared on Thursday, showing Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo looking radically different from reality.
When Konami announced that it would be ditching its Pro Evolution Soccer title and replacing it with eFootball, many fans of the popular video game were game were skeptical about the future of the franchise.
However, when the game finally launched on Thursday many fans were left stunned by how bad the game actually was.
While critics slammed the gameplay and realism of the game, the thing that stood out most to fans was the players’ faces – in particular those of superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
The images of pair’s disturbingly distorted mugs were widely shared across social media, with one user simply saying: “Please tell me this is fake.”
Another user simply said “they look drunk”, while one added: “It went from one of the best football games in the world to a game you don’t want to play before you go to bed as it can give you nightmares.”
The face scan for Messi is all the more embarrassing when considering that the Argentine is the cover star for the game, and that a previous trailer released by Konami showed him looking almost life-like while he was still at Barcelona.
Others, however, have defended the game, saying it’s not all that bad and the images don’t do it justice.
it's not just them it's everyone…it may not be good but its not as bad as everyone is painting it by posting these awkward shots..i mean look at this pic.twitter.com/6Tlnr6llYS
Konami didn’t release a full game in 2021, instead opting for updated transfers and kits so they could put more focus into getting a version ready for next-gen consoles.
UFC champion Israel Adesanya has accused New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ahern of ‘gaslighting’ after she said MMA fighters aren’t treated differently to other athletes when it comes to mandatory quarantine.
Adesanya announced this week his intention to emigrate from his home country to the United States, a move taken by ‘The Last Stylebender’ in part due to harsh ‘managed isolation and quarantine’ (MIQ) protocols currently in place in New Zealand which have made it difficult for fighters to obtain visas to compete overseas.
The measure, which is designed to curb transmissions of Covid-19 in New Zealand, has also seen so-called ‘lockdown bubbles’ removed, making it increasingly difficult for some of the country’s high-profile MMA stars to train for upcoming fights, as well the MIQ system adding concerns that a fighter’s return to New Zealand could be delayed indefinitely while they await MIQ clearance.
Ardern, for her part, said that the likes of Adesanya and his City Kickboxing teammate Dan Hooker haven’t been unfairly targeted by the MIQ requirements.
“I certainly would not expect there to be a difference in the way our sportspeople were treated,” the leader was quoted as saying.
“Having seen some of those comments, I see there is a wide range of issues there and there’s no doubt that managed isolation does make it hard to come and go from New Zealand and to travel when you have a role that requires travel.
“So I absolutely acknowledge and understand that but I hope that all our sportspeople feel that under the circumstances we’re in that everyone has fair treatment even though we’ve got tight borders.”
Adesanya, though, isn’t exactly on board with what he sees as an oppressive system which has mandated his move to the United States for the benefit of his career.
“This feels like gaslighting… or lying,” wrote Adesanya on Instagram along with a picture of Ardern’s face superimposed over Mike Myers’ Dr. Evil character from the Austin Powers film series.
“Why you always lyyyyyiing!!” he added along with a lengthy statement from City Kickboxing explaining their position.
“We were advised we did not meet the team’s eligibility criteria in terms of size nor did we meet financial eligibility criteria regarding bringing income into New Zealand. We fervently challenge both those positions,” read the statement from Eugene Bareman’s fight team.
“Not only are CKB athletes representatives of a national team who wear the silver fern with pride, we are also a business, which provides jobs, supports numerous families and generates significant economic benefit to the country.
“Whether this be two huge stadium shows or providing some of the highest per capita viewership of UFC events in the world, or through event and hospitality venues, gyms and lounges across New Zealand being filled with people watching one of the countries most rapidly growing sports.”
They added their outspoken statement should “bring attention to the inequity in the current MIQ system and its failure.
“To proactively develop sensible solutions, provided they don’t endanger public health. Our aim is to reduce the burden on a far larger group than just ourselves,” they concluded.
The MIQ system also affects UFC fighter Dan Hooker, who agreed late on Thursday to replace Rafael Dos Anjos in an upcoming fight against Russia’s Islam Makhachev – even as the MIQ requirements mean that he is unsure of when he may be granted entry back into New Zealand where his wife and young family currently reside.
“I can definitely see where he (Adesanya) is coming from. He is speaking from the heart, he is upset about the situation,” said Hooker of Adesanya’s complaint.
“I think the powers that be showed their true colors. Sport New Zealand and the bigwigs in the media back home in New Zealand have just kind of been playing nice with us because we have been getting so much attention for the country… and then they saw an opportunity to put a lid on us or put on us, and they showed their true colors of what they really wanted to do which was to stop MMA and the UFC getting massive in New Zealand.
“But it’s a part of New Zealand culture. Combat sports is a part of our DNA in New Zealand, and we are going to push through no matter what.”
Ex-Chelsea and Atletico Madrid star Diego Costa has had his home in Brazil raided by police as they investigate an alleged criminal scheme involving wide-scale financial fraud, according to reports.
Now plying his trade at Brazilian Serie A leaders Atletico Mineiro, Costa is said to be of interest to police in his home state of Sergipe some 1,000 miles to the northeast of Belo Horizonte.
As part of “Operation Distraction”, federal police there have investigated a criminal enterprise that has allegedly laundered money, committed foreign exchange fraud, and exploited games of chance with a gambling website, Esportenet, at its forefront.
Police confirmed that “in the first phase of the operation, which began on March 3 this year, documents and electronic equipment were seized that allowed the investigation to be deepened and the amount of R$13,129,217.00 ($2.4 million) in cash was seized.
“Based on the evidence collected,” it continued, “it was possible to identify other betting platforms used by the group and individual companies and legal entities for alleged money laundering and foreign exchange fraud.
“The participation of money changers that help the criminal organization to allegedly commit foreign exchange fraud was verified, as well as the participation of a football player who is allegedly the financier of the criminal scheme,” police added.
The striker’s legal team deny the accusations after his house was one of the addresses where Sergipe police reportedly appeared with search warrants this week.
Operation Distraction has been underway since the beginning of the year, some months before Atlético and Costa concluded their negotiations for him to join in August.
For this, the club, known as Galo, are distancing themselves from the scandal but have in any event appointed a criminal lawyer to avoid taking risks and monitor the case.
“The facts reported do not concern the Club; they were not public knowledge, nor (the knowledge of) the institution (because they are investigations); and they predate the athlete’s arrival at Atlético,” a statement read.
“Nevertheless, Atlético is finding out about what can possibly occur to give, if it is in the athlete’s interest, all the support that is necessary.”
Domestic media giant globoesporte has also managed to contact one of Costa’s legal team, who protested that his client is innocent and will voluntarily present himself to the federal police to testify.
Aurelio Belem admitted that Costa’s Sergipe home was raided, but added that nothing was seized so as to try and exonerate the former Spain international.
“Absolutely nothing has been seized,” stressed Belem. “And it couldn’t have been any different, [because] after all, the player has no connection with any criminal scheme that might be suggested.
“We talked at length with the player today. He will spontaneously present himself to the PF to provide the necessary clarifications,” Belem concluded.
This isn’t the first time Costa has had a run-in with the law.
In June last year, he received a six-month suspended jail term and was hit with a $580,000 fine in Spain over a multimillion-dollar image rights fraud.
