Great fight. It's really crazy when you consider how many great fights Poirier has given us, win or loss. Jung, Gaethje, Holloway, and now Hooker. I don't see him ever being a champion, but you have to give the man serious credit for driving through the setbacks against Jung, McGregor and Khabib and keep evolving as a fighter. I was shocked when he beat Holloway and even now I think he still has a little room to grow. Good stuff, Dustin. Congrats.
The last 2 rounds he turned it, he looked done at the end of the 2nd/ Hooker looked like he had nothing in the fifth to even throw a punch, maybe he is too big for the class trying to make weight.
You're right, but it was an interim title, right? Not really the real thing, and I don't think he would consider it to be either. Still, it was an awesome performance by him.
Yeah that was crazy. I remember when I was watching Bradley vs Provodnikov, partway through i had this almost out of body realization: 'this isn't just a great fight...this is one of the greatest fight ever!' I had a similar realization in the championship rounds of this one. It was so crazy seeing Hooker collapse along the cage and then Poirier quickly crash on his stool after the final bell. It was a rare example of a fire fight on the feet that was pretty much equally exciting on the ground. Poirier was close on that first guillotine and he was very close on some triangles and later the arm bar (I'm pretty sure Hooker ate a couple pops) and omoplata. I've seen some awesome MMA fights, but I don't know if any had me going crazy like this one. Even in ~20 years as a boxing fan only a few fights in the ring have had my heart in my chest like this: Corrales vs Castillo I, Marquez vs Pac I, Vasquez vs Marquez II & III, Bradley vs. Provodnikov
Brutal stuff. War-and-a-half! I love Dustin. Really is one of the most entertaining fighters of the last decade.
my pal is good friends with a guy who fought hooker once hooker punched him in the face he tapped he wasnt really a fighter tweeted his way to a ufc contract he was a fighter that liked heel hooks and not much else
