Hooker Says Oliveira "Killed" the BMF Title's Aura

Dan Hooker says the BMF title has lost its shine, and he points at the man who holds it. In his view, Charles Oliveira helped drain the belt of what once made it special.

Oliveira's next defense

The champion is set to defend the title at UFC 335 against Diego Lopes on Dec. 12. Hooker's comments land ahead of that fight.

Too many nice guys

Hooker says the belt lost its identity. He would have kept it in the lane of Nate Diaz and Masvidal, with fighters who throw down and also talk trash.

He used himself and Bobby Green as the model. Green, he said, could lose 20 times and still be a BMF contender.

Max Holloway, in his telling, broke that pattern. Hooker called him the nicest guy in the world. His wider claim is that too many "nice guys" ended up in the BMF picture.

The radio remarks

Hooker spoke on Submission Radio. He said Oliveira's route to the title badly hurt the belt's aura.

"It was cool for a bit and then he kind of made it not cool," Hooker said. "I think he killed it."

How Oliveira won it

Oliveira, nicknamed "do Bronxs", took the BMF distinction in March by beating Max Holloway, "Blessed", in the UFC 326 headliner. Fans had high hopes for the bout.

He used grappling to win a one-sided unanimous decision. The plan worked, but the fight was short on the fireworks fans expect from a BMF title bout.

Our View

Hooker is arguing about style and attitude more than results. A belt built on trash talk and brawling means less when the fights are tactical and the champions are polite, but that is a matter of taste, and other fighters may disagree.

The Dec. 12 meeting with Lopes is the next test. A careful, grappling-heavy one would give him fresh support.

Source: BJPenn.com