Dana White confident Dan Hooker vs. Nasrat Haqparast happens at UFC 266

LAS VEGAS – Just days out from UFC 266, Dana White is not worried that the matchup between Dan Hooker and Nasrat Haqparast falls through.

Both Hooker (20-10 MMA, 10-6 UFC) and Haqparast (13-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) have experienced issues obtaining their U.S. visas and with Hooker’s situation finally sorted, Haqparast is yet to hear back.

But having dealt with numerous international fighters before, White is optimistic that Haqparast makes it to the fight.

“I don’t know yet, we’re working on it,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters in attendance at the UFC Apex following Tuesday’s Dana White’s Contender Series 40 event. “We should be able to get this done. I’m hoping we can. You guys have no idea how much sh*t we deal with with visas and all this kind of stuff. We got a really good team that saves our ass on a lot of shows so we should be able to get this done. I’m confident we can.”

Just one day after Hooker got his U.S. visa approved, Haqparast took to Twitter to reach out to the U.S. consulate in Frankfurt, Germany, urging them to expedite the approval process. On top of that, Haqparast has been dealing with the tragic loss of his mother, but has every intention of making it to the fight.

UFC 266 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and early prelims on ESPN+.