Veteran lightweight challenger, Dan Hooker has likely returned himself to the elites of the divisional rankings ahead of next…
Veteran lightweight challenger, Dan Hooker has likely returned himself to the elites of the divisional rankings ahead of next week — landing a close, split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) victory against Polish contender, Mateusz Gamrot on the main card of UFC 305.
Auckland native, Hooker, a perennial contender in the lightweight division, arrived tonight in his return against Gamrot off the back of consecutive wins over both Claudio Puelles, and last year, Jalin Turner.
And snapping the impressive rise of the former two-weight KSW champion, Gamrot tonight ‘Downunder’, pressure was the name of the game for City Kickboxing star, Hooker from the outset and throughout their three round matchup at 155lbs.
Dropping Gamrot with a clipping shot behind the ear in the dying moments of the first round, Hooker would make it back to his feet following a handful of successful takedowns from Gamrot in the second and final frames en route to a close split win — New Zealand striker, Hooker would then call for a symbolic BMF title fight, as well as a clash with former champion, Conor McGregor, or a title-eliminator matchup next.
Below, catch the highlights from Dan Hooker’s win over Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 305
Veteran lightweight challenger, Dan Hooker has likely returned himself to the elites of the divisional rankings ahead of next…
Veteran lightweight challenger, Dan Hooker has likely returned himself to the elites of the divisional rankings ahead of next week — landing a close, split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) victory against Polish contender, Mateusz Gamrot on the main card of UFC 305.
Auckland native, Hooker, a perennial contender in the lightweight division, arrived tonight in his return against Gamrot off the back of consecutive wins over both Claudio Puelles, and last year, Jalin Turner.
And snapping the impressive rise of the former two-weight KSW champion, Gamrot tonight ‘Downunder’, pressure was the name of the game for City Kickboxing star, Hooker from the outset and throughout their three round matchup at 155lbs.
Dropping Gamrot with a clipping shot behind the ear in the dying moments of the first round, Hooker would make it back to his feet following a handful of successful takedowns from Gamrot in the second and final frames en route to a close split win — New Zealand striker, Hooker would then call for a symbolic BMF title fight, as well as a clash with former champion, Conor McGregor, or a title-eliminator matchup next.
Below, catch the highlights from Dan Hooker’s win over Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 305
Dan Hooker has a lot to gain in his first fight of 2024 when he takes on Mateusz Gamrot this weekend at UFC 305. “The Hangman” has produced back-to-back wins in the lightweight division over Jalin Turner and Claudio Puelles to earn himself the #11 ranking. Gamrot, on the other hand, sits at #5 having […]
Dan Hooker has a lot to gain in his first fight of 2024 when he takes on Mateusz Gamrot this weekend at UFC 305.
“The Hangman” has produced back-to-back wins in the lightweight division over Jalin Turner and Claudio Puelles to earn himself the #11 ranking.
Gamrot, on the other hand, sits at #5 having beaten the likes of Rafael dos Anjos and Arman Tsarukyan during his time in the UFC.
Had the division’s champion, Islam Makhachev, been able to make a quicker turnaround to face Tsarukyan, who solidified his status as the number one contender by beating Charles Oliveira at UFC 300, there’s a world in which Gamrot wouldn’t need to take this fight.
Dan Hooker Says Mateusz Gamrot Has To Fight Him To Make Himself More Viable For A Title Shot
Hooker believes that his opponent this weekend in Perth didn’t take this fight because he wanted to go to Australia to test himself against “The Hangman.”
Other contenders may have chosen to wait knowing that once Makhachev does return from injury to fight Tsarukyan, he’s likely to be the next up when you look at the rest of the top five.
He has some impressive wins on his record, but as the Kiwi fighter pointed out during a recent interview on the FREESTYLEBENDER YouTube channel, Gamrot’s recent wins haven’t been dominant displays.
“Yeah I feel like they made him do it. I feel like he’s not doing it by choice. I feel like if it was a choice, he would sit out like he’s the next contender in line for a title shot. So obviously, Arman is potentially booked for Islam, I hear Islam’s injured and that’s like up in the air at the moment, but Gamrot’s the next guy. In the top five, a lot of the big names are coming off losses if you look down the (rankings), like (Dustin) Poirier, (Justin) Gaethje, Oliveira, are all coming off losses.
“Gamrot, like a close edging win after like pretty much his last two fights, he got dropped by ‘RDA’ and he got dropped by Jalin Turner and then managed to grab ahold of them and survive and panic and win, you know what I mean? So to say that this guy is the next in line for a title is very hard to market I guess for the UFC. So for in terms of Gamrot, he needs like, a big win over a guy with an exciting fighter with a big name, and so that’s me. But I’m in the game of opportunities.”
UFC 305 is almost upon us, and MMA News is here to keep you updated with the current odds for Saturday’s lineup. The upcoming pay-per-view takes place Saturday, August 17, at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. The main card begins at 10 PM ET/7 PM PT, with the preliminary card starting at 6:30 PM […]
Topping the lineup will be reigning UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus Du Plessis, who is tasked with getting the better of returning great Israel Adesanya if he’s to record a first successful title defense and stall the three-time ambitions of the Nigerian-New Zealander.
Also set to make the walk on Saturday night will be the likes of lightweight fan favorite Dan Hooker, heavyweight slugger Tai Tuivasa, and returning welterweight Li Jingliang.
Ahead of the event, you can get some help from the group of experts at MMA News by checking out their predictions for the UFC 305 main card here.
UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya Betting Odds
Listed below are the latest betting odds for UFC 305 (as of 8/17), courtesy of DraftKings.
Main Card:
Dricus Du Plessis (-108) vs. Israel Adesanya (-112)
Kai Kara-France (+185) vs. Steve Erceg (-225)
Mateusz Gamrot (-410) vs. Dan Hooker (+320)
Tai Tuivasa (+200) vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik (-245)
Dan Hooker believes the UFC lightweight division’s reputation as an all-action weight class has been hampered by the rise of a few names. Hooker is among the most notable names set to be in action at this weekend’s UFC 305 pay-per-view, set to go down inside the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. The New Zealander […]
His frequent calls to secure a spot on the upcoming card Down Under were eventually answered in the form of a showdown with top-five contender Mateusz Gamrot. “The Hangman” will enter as a sizable underdog against “Gamer,” who has come under criticism in recent times for his control-heavy fight style.
And more than just Gamrot, the lightweight veteran believes a number of names high up the ladder took over the division by stifling those who have long kept up its reputation as an entertaining roster.
Hooker: Oliveira, Poirier, Gaethje, & Others ‘Stifled’ By Lightweight Grabbers
During a recent interview on the FREESTYLEBENDER YouTube channel, Hooker looked ahead to his opportunity to climb back into title contention at 155 pounds and assessed the current state of the weight class’ top five.
“The Hangman” put his upcoming opponent alongside champion Islam Makhachev and top contender Arman Tsarukyan as three names who moved toward the lightweight mountaintop by smothering any and all exciting styles.
“I guess it’s like the elites — not necessarily the elites, but lightweight is such a stacked division, there’s so many exciting fighters, (Charles) Oliveira, (Justin) Gaethje, (Dustin) Poirier, (Jalin) Turner, (Michael) chandler; there’s a lot of very exciting fighters within that,” Hooker said. “But now you can see the guys that — because obviously being an exciting fighter, wanting to go out there and perform, put on a show, put on an incredible fight for the fans, you need the other guy to oblige.
“If I go out there and say, ‘I just wanna go out there, slang some leather, put on an exciting fight,’ and the other guy’s plan is to just grab ahold of me and stifle me until he wins, then he’s gonna win,” Hooker continued. “I feel like the top echelon of the lightweight division now with Islam, Arman, and Gamrot is the guys that have just stifled the division. That’s why the lightweight division is in such a weird place now. These guys have been able to stifle the exciting guys.”
Hooker will look to put a stop to that trend and avoid being “stifled” by Gamrot at UFC 305 this Saturday night (Sunday morning local time).
UFC 305 is just around the corner. The card goes down in Perth, Australia this Saturday night (Sunday morning local time), and will feature a host of top…
UFC 305 is just around the corner. The card goes down in Perth, Australia this Saturday night (Sunday morning local time), and will feature a host of top…
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