Poirier victorious in UFC thriller
LAS VEGAS » Dustin Poirier won a thrilling unanimous decision over Dan Hooker on Saturday night, surviving a brutal second round and persevering to finish a wellrounded performance in the main event at the UFC’s corporate gym.
Mike Perry also ended his two-fight skid with a one-sided unanimous decision over Mickey Gall in the penultimate fight of the UFC’s fifth consecutive fan-free event in its hometown.
The main event was a barnburner from the opening round, with both lightweights trading wicked strikes and displaying minimal regard for defense. The second round was a particular spectacle, with each fighter badly hurting the other while throwing punches and knees at full power.
The fight went to the ground in the fourth round, and Poirier attempted several submissions before Hooker escaped. Poirier appeared to have more energy left for the fifth round, and he won on
all three cards: 48-47, 48-47 and 48-46.
“It was a tough one,” Poirier said. “Dan came to fight. He’s a tough guy. He’s on the rise. He really thought he was going to get past me. I trusted in my team, in my skill and my work ethic.”
Poirier (26-6) capped his long rise by beating Max Holloway in April 2019 for the interim lightweight title. He lost the belt to unbeaten champion Khabib Nurmagomedov last September, and a leg injury subsequently kept him out of the cage for the longest stretch of his career.
He was back in fine form against Hooker (209), the tough kickboxing star from New Zealand who had won seven of his last eight bouts since 2016.
Perry had lost five of his last seven fights, and his wild mixed martial arts career took another swerve in recent months when he split with his wife, separated from his coaches and decided that his girlfriend, Latory Gonzalez, would be the only person in his corner at this fight.
Gonzalez doesn’t have an extensive combat sports background, and her corner work largely consisted of placing an ice bag on Perry’s neck between rounds and saying: “You’re doing great, baby.” Perry used his superior striking skills and an impressive ground game to earn just his second win since July 2018.
“Every time we get in there, it’s all up to me,” said Perry, who plans to get new coaches before his next bout. “I trained for this. I’m a professional.”
The show was the last of five weekend events at the UFC Apex gym on the promotion’s corporate campus. The UFC has staged eight fan-free events amid the coronavirus pandemic since returning from an eight-week break.