The Dan Hooker vs. Nasrat Haqparast fight is once again in jeopardy.

On Monday’s The MMA Hour, Dan Hooker detailed his difficult journey to get a last-minute visa for UFC 266 this weekend. After reaching out for help on social media, Hooker was able to get his visa approved and will be landing in the United States on Thursday, will weigh in on Friday, and will then face Nasrat Haqparast on Saturday. Except now it appears all of Hooker’s hard work could be for naught as Haqparast is having the same issue that Hooker did.

Haqparast’s mother passed away last week, but despite the tragedy, Haqparast said he still intended to fight Hooker at UFC 266. But Haqparast flew back to Germany for his mother’s funeral and is now facing similar visa issues for his return. Taking to social media in an attempt to follow in Hooker’s footsteps, Haqparast made a plea to the United States Consulate in Frankfurt to help expedite things.

One of the key issues facing Hooker in processing his visa was the strict COVID-19 lockdown New Zealand is currently under. Germany is not currently under a lockdown, however, there are “substantial backlogs” of visas to be processed, per the U.S. Embassy website, that may lead to increased wait times. Knowing first-hand how slow the visa process can be, upon hearing of Haqparast’s own visa issues, Hooker also attempted to mobilize fans to help speed things along.

It was a commendable moment of solidarity between the two fighters and ultimately, either Haqparast’s attempts or Hooker’s seem to have gotten the attention of the U.S. Consulate. Hawparasy updated his Twitter early this morning to inform everyone that he was contacted by the U.S. Consulate and asked to provide additional information, which he did. Now, it’s simply a waiting game.

Should Haqparast also get his visa approved at the last minute, it will be one of the wildest pre-fight stories in the history of the sport.

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TOP STORIES

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VIDEO STEW

The MMA Hour.

Embedded.

The best of Robbie Lawler.

Heck of a promo.

Fishing with Robbie Lawler.

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LISTEN UP

The Co-Main Event. Discussing Anthony Smith and previewing UFC 266.

Jack Slack. Discussing UFC Vegas 37 and Bellator 266.

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SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Video allegedly showing Dillon Danis getting taken into custody by police.

The return.

Hot ticket item.

Call out.

Ciryl Gane moving up in the world.

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

N/A.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

Since even in the best-case scenario here neither man will be in the U.S. until Thursday, having them cut weight seems absolutely insane. Just run this as an open-weight fight. No fight deserves it more.

Thanks for reading and see y’all tomorrow.

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EXIT POLL

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