What’s Next For Dan Hooker?

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Another weekend of fisticuffs went down last Saturday night (June 27, 2020) as UFC on ESPN 12 blew the roof off UFC Apex In Las Vegas, Nevada.

Several fighters were left licking their wounds after a wild night of fights including Jason Witt, who was knocked out in just 48 seconds by Takashi Sato (see it). And Sean Woodson, who was submitted by Julian Erosa (see it again here). But which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now 48 hours removed from the show?

Dan Hooker.

Coming into his headlining bout against Dustin Poirier, Hooker was in search of his fourth straight win to put him over the top and inch him closer to a Lightweight title fight. If not Khabib Nurmagomedov or Justin Gaethje, “The Hangman” was eagerly anticipating potential clashes against Tony Ferguson or Conor McGregor.

Hooker looked great early on, pushing the pace and controlling the distance with his reach advantage. In fact, “The Hangman” was in full control through the first ten minutes, winning rounds one and two easily after roughing up “The Diamond’s” face. Showing the experience and heart of a champion, Poirier turned it around in the final three rounds to do enough to rally and pull off a unanimous decision.

But the story of the fight was, well, the fight itself. It was an absolute barn-burner, brawl, war, whatever you want to call it, it was simply special. Both men put it on the line, both delivered heavy shots and both ate them all the same. This will be one etched in the history books as one of the all-time greats, which was only magnified by the empty arena as every shot could be heard and felt. Right when you thought one man was about to crumble, he’d come back to life and start unloading pure violence.

Despite the loss, Hooker’s stock went way up as fight fans, as well as his colleagues, sang his praises after the “Fight of the Year” performance. In short, “The Hangman” is now welcome at the big dogs table.

“Hey everyone, just back at the hotel with the lads having a feed,” Hooker said after the fight. “Got checked out of the hospital, everything’s all good. Just a couple of stitches on the eye. Hey, that’s the game we play, no worries. It’s just a small setback and I’ll be back!”

“Credit to Poirier better man on the night, no regrets, no excuses,” he added in the video caption. “Minor setbacks ain’t a major for me.”

As for who he should face next, a fight against Charles Oliveira seems appropriate given the state of the Top 10 at 155 pounds. The Top 4 is out of the question at the moment, Paul Felder is retired and Hooker already has a win over him anyway. Oliveira is at No. 7 at the moment, and just so happens to be on a seven-fight win streak.

“Do Bronx” may be a bit hesitant to sign on the dotted line to fight someone coming off a loss given his success as of late. But at the end of the day, it’s the only fight to make for both men at the moment. Unless you have a better idea?

For complete UFC on ESPN 12 results and coverage click here.