Dan Hooker was seconds away from beating Dustin Poirier and changing the course of Conor McGregor’s career in June 2020.
‘Notorious’ suffered his first knockout loss when he rematched Poirier, whom he previously stopped inside two minutes, at UFC 257 in January 2021.
It ended up being a career-altering fight for McGregor as he lost out on a crossover boxing match with Manny Pacquiao before being forced into a trilogy bout against Poirier.
The Irishman famously broke his leg at UFC 264 in July 2021, and almost three years later he is yet to return to fighting – but he is booked to face Michael Chandler on June 29.
However, things could’ve been so much different if Hooker had a few more seconds to work in round two of his exhilarating fight with Poirier.
Both men came out firing in what later became known as 2020’s Round of the Year, but it was Hooker who ended it in the ascendancy as he went looking for a finish.
The New Zealander landed a flurry of punches that rocked his opponent, who uncharacteristically shot for a takedown in the final minute of the second frame.
Hooker shut down the wrestling attempt and pushed Poirier to the cage before landing several punches and two knees as the round ended.
As referee Herb Dean stepped in to separate the two lightweight contenders, Poirier put his hands on his knees while the UFC commentators speculated about his ability to continue competing in round three.
Ultimately, the former interim UFC champion recovered in his corner and went on to outpoint Hooker over the next few rounds to secure a massive decision win.
Famously, Poirier won back-to-back Red Panty Nights against McGregor before falling short in a shot at Charles Oliveira’s title.
Poirier will try to become the undisputed lightweight champion at UFC 302 on Saturday night.
The 35-year-old hopes it will be third-time lucky when he takes on Islam Makhachev after previously suffering submission defeats in title bouts against Khabib Nurmagomedov and Oliveira.
Regardless of his past failures, Poirier is extremely confident of ending Makhachev’s reign as champion at the Prudential Center, in Newark, New Jersey.
“I’m going to knock him unconscious and the ref is going to be pulling me off of him,” he said during a pre-fight interview with Yahoo Sports.
If Poirier’s prediction comes true it would be a massive upset as the bookmakers have him priced at 4/1 just to beat Makhachev this weekend.
News Summary:
- Footage shows how close Dan Hooker came to derailing Conor McGregor’s career-changing rematch with Dustin Poirier
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