UFC 305 star Dan Hooker had to fight through significant adversity to have his hand raised in memorable fashion when he last entered the Octagon.
The lightweight fan favorite will return on the main card of this weekend’s pay-per-view event at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, where he’s tasked with getting the better of Mateusz Gamrot if he's to climb back toward the title picture at 155 pounds.
Hooker has won two straight since a difficult run of form, most recently showing that his time toward the top is far from over by stalling the ambitions of Jalin Turner. The pair put on one of the fights of the night at UFC 290 last July, both wearing the damage from a three-round battle.
"The Tarantula" got the better of the early goings, notably connecting with a brutal head kick that Hooker somehow ate and maintained consciousness. "The Hangman," though, was able to rally in rounds two and three to fall on the right side of a split decision — a feat made only more impressive by the fact Hooker had competed with a badly broken arm for the majority of the fight.
Ahead of Saturday’s event, the promotion has released the full Hooker vs. Turner fight from UFC 290 on its official YouTube channel.
Hooker will look to achieve a similar result come fight night Down Under, but likely without the grueling three-round nature of the contest and the severely broken arm he emerged from Las Vegas with over a year ago.
The New Zealander has, however, vowed to give Gamrot the "most exciting" fight of his career. And with "Gamer" also acknowledging the need to entertain if he's to fight for gold soon, perhaps the Perth fans will be in for a barnburner when these two lightweights share the cage.