A very interesting co-main event will go down at lightweight from UFC 243 in Melbourne, Australia this weekend. Al Iaquinta and Dan Hooker will step into the Octagon for three rounds at 155 pounds. Iaquinta comes off a unanimous decision loss to Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, while Hooker comes off a massive first-round knockout win over […]
Al Iaquinta and Dan Hooker will step into the Octagon for three rounds at 155 pounds. Iaquinta comes off a unanimous decision loss to Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, while Hooker comes off a massive first-round knockout win over James Vick in July. Speaking to BJPenn.com, Iaquinta previewed his bout with “The Hangman,” who he plans on putting away quickly in front of his native crowd.
“I think he’s a very tough opponent. He’s the kind of guy that you got to put out. He doesn’t go out easily. So the goal is to put him out early,” Iaquinta said. “The goal is to finish the fight quick and easy. And I think that’s definitely a possibility.
“I have a lot of things that I’ve been working on that I think I could land early in the fight, but if not, I know he’s tough and I know it’ll be a 15 minute beat down. I’m in great shape, and I’ll be more than content to beat on him for the entire 15 minutes.”
Iaquinta knows he likely holds the wrestling advantage in the matchup, but is preparing for Hooker’s sneaky jiu-jitsu game to avoid getting caught while on top.
“Yeah, I don’t think they really wrestle in New Zealand too much, so if the opportunity presents itself for me to get a takedown, I think that that’s always a possibility,” he said. “He’s got some good submissions and stuff that I’ve been working on in the gym to just stay away from his strengths in that aspect.
“I’ve been training with guys that are so good and so technical, so strong, so tough, that anything he throws at me — he’s got a few things that are very dangerous — but I think anything he throws at me will be something I’ve seen before.”
Who do you think will leave Melbourne victorious at UFC 243 between Iaquinta and Hooker?
UFC 243 goes down on pay-per-view (PPV) from the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia this weekend (Sat. October 6, 2019). In the main event of the night, undisputed middleweight champion Robert Whittaker will take on interim champion Israel Adesanya in a title unification bout. Whittaker and Adesanya are two of the best strikers under the […]
UFC 243 goes down on pay-per-view (PPV) from the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia this weekend (Sat. October 6, 2019).
In the main event of the night, undisputed middleweight champion Robert Whittaker will take on interim champion Israel Adesanya in a title unification bout. Whittaker and Adesanya are two of the best strikers under the UFC banner, giving this pairing all the ingredients to create an explosive main event.
Also, in the co-main event, lightweights Al Iaquinta and Dan Hooker will go head-to-head. The event is being hyped up as the biggest in Australian history, and possibly, in UFC history.
Ahead of the PPV, the UFC has released their full UFC 243 Countdown special on their official YouTube channel. In the special, we get a look at Whittaker, Adesanya, Iaquinta, and Hooker’s preparations for their respective bouts.
You can watch the full UFC 243 countdown special in the video player below.
What did you think of the UFC 243 Countdown episode?
This past weekend (Sat. September 7, 2019) at UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi, we had a great morning and afternoon of fights that showcased all sorts of talent. The event featured 13 fights, seven of which went to decision with one of those being a draw, four knockouts, and two submissions. The show was headlined […]
This past weekend (Sat. September 7, 2019) at UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi, we had a great morning and afternoon of fights that showcased all sorts of talent. The event featured 13 fights, seven of which went to decision with one of those being a draw, four knockouts, and two submissions.
The show was headlined by undefeated and undisputed UFC lightweight champion Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov and now former interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier. This fight saw Nurmagomedov literally run right through the No. 1 ranked lightweight, as he scored seven of the attempted eight takedowns and landed 54 of his 77 total strikes.
We at LowKickMMA have compiled a list of five fights to make after their showings. Where do the winners go from here? Where do the losers go from here? Continue reading to see our five matchups:
Curtis Blaydes (12-2) 1 NC vs. Junior dos Santos (21-6)
Curtis Blaydes had a vintage trademark performance last night, as he cruised his way to a TKO victory after absolutely mauling Shamil Abdurakhimov, what a dominant showing that was. His performance over Abdurakhimov may have been just as dominant as Nurmagomedov’s win over Poirier was.
Blaydes has got to be one of the very best wrestlers in this entire sport, and that’s really something considering the highest level of wrestling he ever competed in was NJCAA. His ground and pound is quite vicious as well. “Razor” is going to continue to give the majority of heavyweights fits, maybe all of them at some point. At 28-years-old, pretty much growing up and evolving in the UFC, and coming from a wrestling background, he’s going to be even more of a problem than he is now in the coming years.
A fight with Junior dos Santos makes sense strictly because dos Santos is the only guy above him that makes sense. Blaydes lost to Francis Ngannou twice, Daniel Cormier is about to retire and will probably get an immediate rematch against the champion Stipe Miocic in his last one. Those are the only guys in front of him. Derrick Lewis is right behind him, but has lost his last two, rather than dos Santos’ last one, “Razor” versus “Cigano” is the fight to make.
Islam Makhachev (18-1) vs. Gregor Gillespie (13-0)
We’ve gotten to see Islam Makhachev fight two stud grapplers in a row now. One of which was against the debuting Arman Tsarukyan in April, and the other of which was on Saturday against Davi Ramos. Many people say Gregor Gillespie is the one to dethrone Nurmagomedov because of how good he is at wrestling, but there’s one problem, he simply isn’t in the position to get that fight. However, a fight with ‘Mini Khabib’ makes perfect sense.
Makhachev is about as elite as they get, he’s like a 27-year-old version of the champion. His grappling is some of the best in the sport, and his striking is quite technical as well. The way these Dagestani fighters do such a stellar job of mixing freestyle wrestling, Greco-roman wrestling, BJJ, and judo to make the perfect MMA grappling style is a beautiful thing to observe, especially the ones trained by Khabib’s father.
This is the perfect fight to see where each should go from here, and it’s the perfect fight that if it happens, it’d be easier to gauge and predict how a fight with Nurmagomedov would go for Gillespie. This could also get Gillespie into the top 15, which is something we’ve all talked about for some time now. What will come out on top? An NCAA Division I Freestyle Wrestling National Champion or a World Combat Sambo gold medalist?
Paul Felder (17-4) vs. Al Iaquinta (14-5-1)/Dan Hooker (19-8) winner
Paul Felder looked good in his rematch with Edson Barboza, and like their first fight, it was incredibly close. This one may have even been closer than the first fight. Though the scoring was atrocious, there really wasn’t much of a way to mess this one up, because either could’ve gotten the nod without much controversy.
Felder has been scheduled to fight Al Iaquinta twice at this point. Once when Felder fought Charles Oliveira, Iaquinta pulled out due to being unhappy with his contract. The other was when Iaquinta was scheduled to fight Felder, but instead fought Nurmagomedov on a day’s notice for the title. Maybe the third time could be a charm for these two.
Now if Dan Hooker wins, himself versus Felder is a great fight too. Hooker comes from a kickboxing background, so that against Felder’s karate and taekwondo would be very fun to watch. Same with Iaquinta, though he comes from a wrestling background, he’s mostly a boxer that has a few good kicks he likes to use. Iaquinta is ranked above Felder, and with a win, Hooker will most likely be right next to him. Either of these fights make a great deal of sense and would be fun to watch.
Dustin Poirier (25-6) 1 NC vs. Conor McGregor (21-4) II
This would be a great rematch that everyone would love. Firstly, there aren’t too many options for Poirier right now as the division is. Most guys in the top ten are booked, one just fought but has lost four of his last five, and two of lightweight’s top ten are at welterweight now. That leaves us with Conor McGregor.
Many of us have wanted this rematch for a long time, especially since they’ve both been at 155 pounds. McGregor has stated that he’d like to make his return as well, and the next best guy aside from the champion and the No. 1 contender is Dustin Poirier. Of course, McGregor quickly knocked Poirier out in their first fight together, but a rematch may go quite differently.
McGregor’s precision and timing are impeccable, and that’s what got him the knockout win over Poirier in their first fight, but Poirier can take a much better shot at lightweight. He used to get hurt all the time at featherweight; Jonathan Brookins, Akira Corassani, and Diego Brandao all hurt him on the feet, only one of which is a guy that regularly knocks his opponents out, or even has high level striking for that matter. That doesn’t happen anymore, Poirier did get knocked out by Michael Johnson, but that fight is where he learned that he needs patience in order to be the best.
McGregor needs a fight, and he’s not going to fight anyone that isn’t ranked highly either. Tony Ferguson’s going to be booked, the champion’s going to be booked, the next best bet may be the winner of Donald Cerrone and Justin Gaethje. However, if Gaethje wins that fight, he should probably be next in line after Ferguson. Both McGregor and Poirier were climbing the featherweight rankings during their first fight, now they’re both at the very top of lightweight. How would this rematch go?
Khabib Nurmagomedov (28-0) vs. Tony Ferguson (25-3)
Is it time for this fight to come together yet or what? As everyone knows, these two have been scheduled to fight each other four times, of course, none of which did they actually make the walk to the cage opposite one another. Each pulled out twice, resulting in each of them taking a fight with a lesser opponent once, and each of them taking a fight with another fellow ranked opponent once. Nurmagomedov had to fight UFC newcomer Darrell Horcher because of this, and Tony Ferguson had to fight UFC newcomer Lando Vannata.
Also, Ferguson ended up fighting Edson Barboza after Nurmagomedov pulled out, and Nurmagomedov had to fight Al Iaquinta after Ferguson pulled out. At least all four times the healthy party was still able to fight, but four times these two have been scheduled to fight each other and it hasn’t happened. They were even scheduled to fight on the same night at UFC 229, and both made it to the fight with no issues, but if they’re fighting each other, it doesn’t seem to pan out. What bad luck they’ve had.
Hopefully, the fifth time’s a charm for this fight. Both are on a 12-fight win streak in MMA’s most stacked division, not even the UFC’s most stacked division, but the entirety of MMA. Each time these two end up not fighting each other, they both just keep continuing to win and this fight gets more and more important to make each time. The UFC has been trying to make this fight for four years, it’s time to see who really is the best lightweight in the world.
Dan Hooker wanted a bout with Al Iaquinta and he’ll get it. ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reports that Iaquinta vs. Hooker has been verbally agreed to. The lightweight tilt is set to take place inside Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. Iaquinta…
Dan Hooker wanted a bout with Al Iaquinta and he’ll get it. ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reports that Iaquinta vs. Hooker has been verbally agreed to. The lightweight tilt is set to take place inside Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. Iaquinta and Hooker are scheduled to throw down at UFC 243 on Oct. 5. At first, […]
An interesting lightweight bout has been added to the upcoming UFC 243 pay-per-view (PPV) card in Melbourne, Australia. According to a report from ESPN‘s Ariel Helwani, Dan Hooker will be getting his desired bout against Al Iaquinta. The action will go down from the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne. “Hangman” is currently coming off a big […]
An interesting lightweight bout has been added to the upcoming UFC 243 pay-per-view (PPV) card in Melbourne, Australia.
According to a report from ESPN‘s Ariel Helwani, Dan Hooker will be getting his desired bout against Al Iaquinta. The action will go down from the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne. “Hangman” is currently coming off a big first-round knockout victory over James Vick at UFC San Antonio.
Hooker has won five of his last six bouts, as he was defeated by Edson Barboza prior to his fight with Vick in December in Milwaukee. Now, he faces a tough matchup against “Ragin’” Al Iaquinta. Iaquinta has dropped two of his last three contests, his latest being a unanimous decision loss to Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.
Now, he’s looking to regroup against one of the most talented competitors in the form of the 29-year-old New Zealander. Also on the UFC 243 card will be a highly-anticipated UFC middleweight title unification bout. Undisputed champion Robert Whittaker puts his title on the line against interim champion Israel Adesanya.
This fight card has the chance to be the biggest in the history of Australia, headlined by two of Oceania’s biggest stars.
What do you think about Iaquinta and Hooker facing off at UFC 243?
UFC lightweight Al Iaquinta isn’t having any of Dan Hooker’s accusations. ‘The Hangman’ recently got back into the win column by knocking out James Vick at July 20’s UFC San Antonio. Afterward, he challenged the lightweigh…
UFC lightweight Al Iaquinta isn’t having any of Dan Hooker’s accusations. ‘The Hangman’ recently got back into the win column by knocking out James Vick at July 20’s UFC San Antonio. Afterward, he challenged the lightweight division to meet him in Australia for October’s UFC 243. Top challenger Iaquinta quickly responded he was on board […]
