UFC legend Dan Hooker showed he’s a different type of tough in his last MMA outing.
‘The Hangman’, who returns to the Octagon this weekend, overcame serious adversity to eke out a split decision win over lightweight contender Jalin Turner at UFC 290 in July 2023.
In round two, Hooker dropped his guard and was made to pay as Turner cracked him with a clean left high kick that would KO 99 per cent of people on the planet.
Amazingly, Israel Adesanya’s teammate ate it without even wobbling.
Hooker showed the wherewithal to initiate a grappling exchange with Turner, but it wasn’t long before the American broke free of his grip and started landing big bombs.
The 34-year-old was covered in blood and seemed to be on the verge of defeat.
However, he quickly regained his senses and started pushing Turner back.
Hooker stumbled him with a hook before deciding to trade with ‘Tarantula’ against the fence where he ate some nasty shots, but got the better of the exchanges.
Turner tried to bite down on his gumshield and fight through the onslaught of punches Hooker was flinging his way at the end of the second stanza.
Unfortunately for the 29-year-old, he fell to the mat and ended up getting put in an extremely tight rear-naked choke submission that could’ve finished the fight.
Turner wasn’t getting out and it was the bell that ultimately saved him.
In the final round, Hooker continued to pour on the pressure against his visibly beleaguered opponent and it was enough to convince two of the three judges he was a worthy winner.
The victory was made even more impressive by the fact Hooker fought with a broken arm for most of the fight.
“I think it was a front kick in the first round that I think might have put a little crack in it,” he said in the days following UFC 290.
“If you look at it, just as round two starts, I look down at my arm because it’s not responding the way I want it to, and then in the second [round], he lands a couple more kicks and I think that breaks it.
“I definitely felt it in the second. I was like, ‘Something’s up here.’ I couldn’t feel my right hand, and then it wasn’t until the third round, I dropped him and I tried to finish him.
“I was following up with punches, and it was one punch and I was like, ‘I’m going to throw my right hand anyways.’ I threw my right and I felt it completely go out of place.
“My whole right arm just went dead. It’s not how I wanted to win. I was just controlling him on top with my right elbow and just staying on top punching him with my left hand.”
Hooker blamed the injury on his inability to defend Turner’s kick.
He added: “Second round, he booted me in the head. I would have liked to get my hand there but it just didn’t do what it was told.”
“I hurt him at the end of that round and finished with the rear-naked choke wrapped up. So that’s a fight-ending sequence in round two.
“Round three, I was hurting him on the feet and then controlling him on the ground. It’s pretty hard to argue against that. I was pretty confident. I was confident that I got the job done.”
Hooker will look to extend his win streak to three in a row at UFC 305.
He’ll face Mateusz Gamrot, who has already picked up three victories on the spin and is closing in a shot at the lightweight belt as the #5 ranked contender.
Whoever emerges from UFC 305 with the win will most likely need just one more before they are considered a genuine threat to Islam Makhachev’s title reign.
News Summary:
- Dan Hooker showed warrior spirit by eating head kick before almost finishing opponent moments later
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