Salahdine Parnasse names “perfect” opponent after Dan Hooker KO win
Salahdine Parnasse has named his “perfect” opponent after his impressive first-round KO win over Dan Hooker in his UFC debut.
Salahdine Parnasse just needed 2:35 minutes to make a statement in his UFC debut. He made his debut last weekend against UFC veteran Dan Hooker in the main event of UFC Paris. The former KSW champion made quick work of ‘The Hangman' and knocked him out in the first round to secure an impressive victory.
Following the win, he called out Max Holloway and has recently doubled down on that, explaining why the former BMF champion would be the perfect opponent.
Salahdine Parnasse doubles down on Max Holloway callout
In his recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Parnasse emphasized that he is ready to return to the octagon quickly, pointing out that he has not taken any damage against Hooker.
“Look at my face. It’s clean. Tomorrow, I’m ready, ”Parnasse said.
The French-Moroccan star doubled down on his earlier callout to Holloway and stressed that he would be a perfect challenger, as both don't like to trash-talk to sell the fight, and he expects a competitive battle in their potential fight.
“Max Holloway would be the perfect fight. He likes challenges, and I think we could have a very good war together. I have a lot of respect for Max, and I don’t like trash talk -- that’s not my personality,” Parnasse continued.
Furthermore, he expressed confidence in challenging anyone from the top five in the UFC lightweight division.
“I’m ready for anyone in the top five,” Parnasse added.
Check out Salahdine Parnasse’s comments below:
With just one win, Parnasse has already earned himself the No. 9th ranking in the UFC lightweight division. Though he is calling out Holloway, it's likely the UFC won't make this matchup at this stage.
Given that Parnasse has just one win in UFC, it's likely the UFC will give him a challenge against a fighter ranked between No. 6 and No.10 in the UFC lightweight division. before giving him the Holloway fight.
Interestingly, former UFC two-division champion Daniel Cormier believes Parnasse could be stopped in the UFC by the UFC superstar Paddy Pimblett and feels the Brit has elite grappling that will stop the French-Moroccan.
Daniel Cormier believes Paddy Pimblett has the tools to stop Salahdine Parnasse
The former two-division UFC champion pointed out that most of the top contenders are primarily strikers, which could make a matchup with Pimblett particularly interesting.
He believes Pimblett is the only grappler who could pose a different challenge for Parnasse, potentially stop him, and hand him his first UFC setback.
"Parnasse, fighting the other guys at 155, they're generally strikers. Those are great fights," Cormier stated during his post-fight analysis. "There's one real grappler at the top of that division right now to try and ground this man, and that's Paddy Pimblett, who's really good at it.”
Check out Daniel Cormier’s comments below:
