On his path to becoming a UFC champion, Islam Makhachev came close to severely injuring a top-10 lightweight`s arm.
After his sole professional loss to Adriano Martins in 2015, Makhachev built a dominant and destructive win streak leading to the title.
The Dagestani fighter secured 10 consecutive victories to earn his championship opportunity, famously submitting Charles Oliveira in October 2022 to claim the lightweight belt.
While Oliveira is a notable submission victim, one of Makhachev`s other highly ranked lightweight opponents suffered what remains the second fastest victory on his UFC record – and perhaps the most brutal finish.
Brutal Kimura at UFC 267: Dan Hooker`s Arm in Peril Against Islam Makhachev
Makhachev began solidifying his title aspirations after stopping Thiago Moises in the fourth round of his first UFC main event. However, some still doubted the Dagestani`s readiness, as he hadn`t yet defeated a top-10 ranked opponent.
He silenced these critics at UFC 267 in Abu Dhabi (October 2021), an event headlined by Glover Teixeira`s surprising light heavyweight title win via submission over Jan Blachowicz.
Preceding the two championship bouts, Makhachev faced his seemingly toughest challenge yet on paper: the No. 6 ranked Dan Hooker. However, the Dagestani made short work of Hooker, needing less than two and a half minutes to dispatch him.
The fight concluded on the mat, where Makhachev, guided by the fervent instructions of his cornerman Khabib Nurmagomedov, applied a brutal kimura submission.
Hooker didn`t physically tap out; instead, a verbal submission prompted referee Dan Movahedi to stop the contest.
Dan Hooker Pleaded for Referee Stoppage, Islam Makhachev Reveals
During his post-fight press conference, Makhachev provided further detail on the severity of the submission by recounting Hooker`s reaction.
The future champion disclosed that the popular fighter from New Zealand had verbally screamed for the referee to halt the bout.
“I believe he underestimated my finishing capabilities,” Makhachev stated in the press conference. “When I went for the kimura, he began backing up, attempting to defend it.
“At that point – you can rewatch the fight – Khabib instructed me to step over his head. When I did, both of his arms were trapped under me, and he started shouting, ‘Stop, stop it!’”
“I could clearly hear him, but the referee might not have due to the crowd noise at the time,” Makhachev added. “I’ve even seen a photo showing his frustration with the referee for not stopping it sooner… I sincerely hoped his arm wasn`t injured.”
Fortunately, Hooker`s arm was unharmed in that specific encounter, although he later sustained two arm breaks during his fight with Jalin Turner in the summer of 2023.
More recently, ‘The Hangman’ has been out of action due to a broken hand.
