Dan Hooker recently gave his take on potential opponents for Ilia Topuria's maiden lightweight title defense. Hooker took a jab at Topuria, as many fans expect him to face Paddy Pimblett.Topuria became the newly crowned lightweight kingpin last month after securing a devastating opening-round knockout win over former champion Charles Oliveira at UFC 317. Many MMA personalities, including Pimblett, were in the audience as the Brit entered the cage and engaged in a heated face-off with the Georgian Spaniard after the main event.During a recent interview with Sky Sport NZ, Hooker offered his thoughts on the 155-pound title landscape. The Kiwi believes the UFC might book Pimblett against Topuria, given their hostility. Notably, Topuria and Pimblett got into a physical altercation at the fighter hotel during UFC London in March 2022.''The funny thing is they might actually do Paddy [Pimblett], which is like an absolute piss take where he fights Chandler and then gets the title shot is like an absolute piss take, but who cares, at the end of the day he's not going to hold the belt for very long and also if you're in Ilia's shoes, like logically he should be fighting Arman [Tsarukyan], but he's not going to because Arman's a really tough fighter.''Hooker continued:''If I'm sitting there with the title and I'm getting pay-per-view points and I have to fight Arman Tsarukyan, Justin Gaethje or Paddy Pimblett, well, I would take the hardest guy, but if you're smart, you take Paddy Pimblett. You're going to get the most money because there's a lot of animosity. you're going to get the most money and the worst fighter.''Check out Dan Hooker's comments below (7:34):Meanwhile, Hooker is recovering from a hand injury that forced him out of his bout against Justin Gaethje at UFC 313. 'The Hangman' now wants to make his octagon comeback against Oliveira in November.UFC champion hails Ilia Topuria's rise in the UFCReigning UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis is impressed by Ilia Topuria's growth, citing his recent performances inside the octagon.During a recent interview with Betway South Africa, du Plessis praised the Georgian Spaniard, saying:''I'm so happy for [Topuria]. I think, we made our debuts on the same fight card. He was literally in my changing room. We were on the same trajectory, winning our titles one month apart. So I'm super happy for him. I think he's one of those special characters. He's going to be a Hall of Famer, no doubt. Unbeaten, he's the first unbeaten guy to have two titles. So I'm super happy for him and I rate him very highly as an all-around fighter.''Check out Dricus du Plessis' comments below: