Salahdine Parnasse explains why he decided to sign with the UFC and headline UFC Paris against Dan Hooker

Salahdine Parnasse has finally decided to sign with the UFC.

Parnasse signed with the promotion and will headline UFC Paris on Sept. 5 against Dan Hooker. It’s a fan-friendly fight, as Parnasse has been sought-after for years, but he felt like the time was now to sign with the promotion as he got a chance to headline a card in his country and against a top-ranked opponent.

“After my fight with MVP, the UFC contacted me, and it was a really simple opportunity: to be part of the main event in my hometown of Paris. This time, the deal was better, and they offered me the opportunity to be part of the rankings by taking a fight against Dan Hooker. It’s a really good opportunity for me,” Parnasse said to Ariel Helwani.

Salahdine Parnasse is getting a massive chance in his promotional debut against Dan Hooker to cement himself as a top-10 lightweight.

Salahdine Parnasse not concerned about Dan Hooker’s complaint

Although Parnasse might not be a household name to UFC fans, he’s a huge star in Europe and in France.

However, after the UFC announced the fight, Dan Hooker revealed he’s getting death threats from the French fans. Yet, that doesn’t seem to worry Parnasse, as he doesn’t care about it and instead is just focused on the fight.

“Everything with the fans, my fans or Dan’s fans, doesn’t concern me. I have only one goal, and it’s to fight Dan Hooker on September 5. I respect Dan Hooker, but the fans do what they want. It doesn’t concern me. Dan Hooker’s fans can say nasty things to me, but I’m only focused on the fight,” Parnasse added.

Salahdine Parnasse enters UFC Paris with a record of 23-2. He’s coming off a first-round KO win over Kenneth Cross at the MVP MMA event earlier this year. He’s the former KSW featherweight and lightweight champion, and even fought for the KSW welterweight title but lost a decision.