And we are in with a shot….they have
granted me an appointment Monday. All goes well and I get my
passport back, I can jump on the only flight out of NZ Thursday
night.Arrive in Vegas Thursday night, weigh in Friday morning, fight
Saturday.#MMATwitter
pic.twitter.com/37l4Ajfba7— Dan Hangman Hooker (@danthehangman)
September 17, 2021
Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 266 live on
your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app. It may be a photo finish, but both Dan Hooker
and Nasrat
Haqparast are en route to Las Vegas as of Thursday
afternoon.
New Zealand’s Hooker (20-10) expressed his concerns a week ago on
social
media for getting a visa in time to compete at
UFC 266. After contacting his appropriate consulate, Hooker was
given his passport to travel on Thursday, where he flew out of his
home country.
Passport and visa picked up Las Vegas we’re
coming ! Weigh ins in 32 hours !
#UFC266 pic.twitter.com/WTWNjSYB7y— Nasrat Haqparast (@Nasrat_mma)
September 23, 2021
Unexpectedly, his opponent Haqparast (13-3), also encountered visa
problems to get into the United States for this card shortly after
Hooker went through the same issues. On Monday, Haqparast expressed
that he was struggling to get his own visa approved for travel from
Germany. He too requested those on Twitter to aid him with his
journey, and on Thursday morning, it was processed
and approved. Both Hooker and Haqparast will be flying out of
New Zealand and Germany, respectively, to compete at the T-Mobile
Arena in Las Vegas. The fight is still scheduled at 155 pounds, and
both intend to cut weight on their flights before getting to the
Las Vegas on Thursday night.
Hooker will be aiming to snap his first losing streak in over a
decade at this event. In a “Fight of the Year” candidate, Hooker
fell short to Dustin
Poirier at UFC on ESPN 12 by decision. Seven months later, he
returned to face Ultimate Fighting Championship newcomer
Michael
Chandler, and he suffered the first first-round defeat of his
career. Before this skid, the Kiwi had won seven of eight, with his
lone defeat to Edson
Barboza in a stretch that included victories over names like
Paul
Felder, Gilbert
Burns and Al
Iaquinta.
Afghanistan-born German Haqparast has won his last two, capturing
decisions over Alex Munoz
and Rafa
Garcia. The Tristar Gym product holds a career knockout rate of
69 percent, although he has only recorded one knockout across his
five UFC wins when he starched Joaquin Silva in 2019. Decisions
over Marc
Diakiese and Thibault
Gouti bolster his resume, although Drew Dober
separated him from his senses in 70 seconds at the beginning of
2020 to hand Haqparast his first stoppage loss due to strikes.
UFC 266 carries on at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with a
blockbuster card headlined by a pair of title fights. The main
event sees the coaches of season 29 of “The Ultimate Fighter” come
to blows for the featherweight strap, as champ Alexander
Volkanovski takes on Brian
Ortega. The co-marquee matchup pits streaking champion Valentina
Shevchenko against strong wrestler Lauren
Murphy. Featured high on the main card is a five-round
middleweight rematch between Nick Diaz and
Robbie
Lawler.
