In this handout picture provided by UFC, Dustin Poirier celebrates after his victory over Dan Hooker from New Zealand in her easy fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on June 27, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger / Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS – Dustin Poirier won an exciting unanimous decision over Dan Hooker on Saturday night, survived a brutal second round and insisted on achieving a well-rounded performance on the main event in the UFC gym.
Mike Perry also ended his duel skid with a unilateral unanimous decision about Mickey Gall in the penultimate fight of the fifth UFC fan-free event in her hometown.
The main event was a barn burner from the opening round, in which both lightweights dealt nasty blows and showed minimal respect for the defense. The second round was a special spectacle, with each fighter seriously injuring the other while throwing punches and knees with full force.
The fight went down in the fourth round and Poirier tried several submissions before Hooker escaped. Poirier seemed to have more energy for the fifth round and won on all three cards: 48-47, 48-47 and 48-46.
“It was a difficult question,” said Poirier. “Dan came to fight. He is a tough guy. He is on the rise. He really thought he would get past me. I trusted my team, my skills and my work ethic. “
Poirier (26-6) completed his long climb with a win against Max Holloway in April 2019 for the provisional lightweight title. He lost the belt to unbeaten champion Khabib Nurmagomedov last September, and a leg injury kept him out of the cage for the longest stretch of his career.
Against Hooker (20-9), the tough kickboxing star from New Zealand, who has won seven of his last eight fights since 2016, he was in good shape again.
Perry had lost five of his last seven fights, and his wild career as a mixed martial arts player took a further twist in the past few months when he separated from his wife, separated from his coaches, and decided that his girlfriend Latory Gonzalez would only person in his corner would be in this fight.
Gonzalez has no extensive background in martial arts, and her corner work was mainly to put an ice pack on Perry’s neck between rounds and say, “You’re doing great, baby.” Perry used his superior punch skills and impressive ground play to score his second win since July 2018.
“Every time we get in there it’s all up to me,” said Perry, who wants to have new coaches before his next fight. “I trained for it. I am a professional. “
The show was the last of five weekend events at the UFC Apex gym on the company’s campus. The UFC has hosted eight fan-free events amid the coronavirus pandemic since returning from an eight-week break.
The UFC will take time off next week before resuming competition on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi on July 12 with UFC 251, a stacked pay-per-view show with three title fights. The campaign will hold four shows over 14 days on the so-called “Fight Island” before returning to the United States.
This latest Vegas show has been stacked with impressive results and unusual results.
Heavyweight Maurice Greene stopped his duel with an unorthodox submission from Gian Villante, who was sitting on Greene and apparently in control when Greene put an arm around his head. Although Greene (9-4) did not have a traditional stranglehold on Villante’s neck, an exhausted Villante was unable to move and typed 1:16 in battle.
Japanese welterweight Takashi Sato provided one of the most impressive interruptions of the night, beating late substitute Jason Witt in just 48 seconds with a series of punches.
Julian Erosa, another late substitute, won his fight with a five-day deadline by forcing Sean Woodson to get out with a choke in the middle of the third round. Erosa was struck from the UFC squad last year after three consecutive losses, but seized his chance to return at the last minute.
A series of five consecutive placements started with the second fight of the night. Kay Hansen, a 20-year-old straw weight maker who made her UFC debut, hit Jinh Yu Frey in the third round with an armbar finish reminiscent of her heroine Ronda Rousey.
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