Dan
Hooker believes he's the perfect fighter to welcome other
lightweights to the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Hooker (24-14) is scheduled to welcome former two-division
KSW champ Salahdine
Parnasse (23-2) to the UFC in enemy territory at
UFC Paris on Sept. 5. With the
Professional Fighters League looking to retain Nurmagomedov
(22-0) and the UFC rumored to have strong interest in the Russian,
Hooker is willing to take on the unbeaten lightweight.

Dan Hooker offers to welcome Usman Nurmagomedov to the UFC for
‘danger money'

Nurmagomedov is currently the most sought-after free agent in mixed
martial arts after having exhausted his PFL contract. With the
Dagestani hinting at a UFC signing, Hooker believes he is the ideal
opponent for the latest PFL lightweight champ's Octagon debut.

While some fans are calling for a matchup between Nurmagomedov and
Ilia
Topuria, Hooker is certain Topuria won't take the risky
matchup. The UFC veteran also believes that most top UFC
lightweights won't take the same risk and he recently reiterated
that he doesn't mind putting himself on the line if he's
compensated accordingly.

Hooker also notes that he has previously welcomed former Bellator
champion Michael
Chandler to the UFC.

“Who's a better welcoming party? It was the same thing with
Chandler; it's the same thing with this Parnasse guy and it will be
the same thing with Usman,†Hooker told Submission Radio. “No one
else will take the fight. People are like, ‘Usman's gonna come in
and fight Ilia Topuria.' Be serious, you think Ilia Topuria is
gonna take the risk of fighting an unranked, non-UFC fighter? No
one else is willing to take the risk… None of these other guys in
the division want to risk it for the biscuit. So, they call up Dan
Hooker; they offer him a bit of danger money and he welcomes these
boys to the big leagues.â€

Yadong
Song believes Usman
Nurmagomedov didn't mean to cause trouble by jumping the cage
following his brother Umar
Nurmagomedov's knockout loss.

Song (24-9-1) was a massive underdog against Usman's brother, Umar
(20-2), going into their recent main event clash in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship. However, Song flatlined Umar
with an uppercut in the second round in a huge upset. Usman
immediately jumped inside the Octagon and rushed towards his
unconscious brother, nearly colliding with Song.

The
Professional Fighters League star even appeared to
instinctively load up on an elbow strike as Song ran past him, but
didn't follow through.

Song explains why he believes Usman Nurmagomedov wasn’t trying
to attack him

Song has now come to Usman's defense after the unbeaten Russian
drew criticism online for his post-fight actions at
UFC Shanghai. The Chinese bantamweight notes that an official
rushed towards Usman as soon as he jumped the cage. According to
Song, he then almost collided with Usman, who put his hands up in
defense. The former also fully understands the latter's actions,
considering he'd just witnessed his older brother get knocked
out.

“Watching the slow motion, it looked like he was turning around to
throw an elbow or something, but actually I understand because they
are brothers, you know?†Song said in a recent interview. “The
internet said he wanted to maliciously attack me; he just thought I
was going over to attack him. Because he went over to check on his
brother, and suddenly someone runs over, as you'd definitely react
that way.â€

“The Kung Fu Kid†believes the PFL lightweight champ must have
already been startled by the official running towards him.

“He thought I was going to attack him,†Song added. “Because when
he went to see it, a person suddenly ran over. You can see it in
slow motion; he closed his eyes. And then I ran over there and he
defended it. That's it.â€

ðŸ™ŒðŸ—£ï¸ Song Yadong speaks on Usman
Nurmagomedov jumping the cage, he believes Usman did NOT intend
on maliciously attacking him:

“Watching the slow motion, it looked like he was turning around to
throw an elbow or something, but actually I understand because they
are brothers,…

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight)
September 1, 2026

Ce Liu
claims he has unfinished business with Junior
Tafa.

Liu (4-1) was scheduled to make his
Ultimate Fighting Championship debut against Tafa (7-6) in
front of a home crowd in Shanghai, China, on Aug. 29. However, Tafa
withdrew due to undisclosed reasons five days before fight night
and was replaced on short notice by Levi
Rodrigues, who suffered a first-round knockout loss to Liu.

Ce Liu calls for Junior Tafa fight after first-round UFC
Shanghai knockout

The Liu vs. Rodrigues bout was a fast-paced back-and-forth affair,
with both fighters having moments of success before Liu piled on
the pressure in the final minute of the first round. The Chinese
light heavyweight ultimately flatlined his Brazilian counterpart,
opening his account in the UFC in style.

Liu subsequently called for a rebooking against Tafa.

“I want to challenge someone — my last opponent,†Liu said
backstage after his win. “I want to settle the score with him in
our next match.â€

“The Oriental Dragon†has finished all four of his pro wins so far,
going past the first round only once in victory. Meanwhile, Tafa is
3-6 in the UFC and coming off a first-round knockout loss against
Iwo
Baraniewski.

🚨FIGHTER CALLOUT🚨

Liu Ce Calls Out Junior Tafa
After His
#UFCShanghai Win To Rebook a Fight With Him!

Who Wins This Matchup If Rebooked 🧠pic.twitter.com/tTrWTLJXR1

— Kevin (@realkevink)
August 30, 2026