At UFC 290, “The Hangman”, Dan Hooker, had a tall order in facing Jalin Turner. The perennial lightweight contender had suffered some tough losses over the past couple years. After a grueling fight with Dustin Porier during the pandemic, Hooker’s stock was at its highest. However, in his next fight, Michael Chandler swiftly finished him inside of one round. Hooker would briefly reestablish himself with a win over Nasrat Haqparast, only for Islam Makhachev to submit him inside one round. Then, Hooker made the ill-advised move down to featherweight, where Arnold Allen quickly finished him inside one round. Dan did manage to score a win over Claudio Puelles, but questions remained about his future as a top contender.
Dan Hooker, image – MMA Fighting
Hooker has always demonstrated sharp striking, but has also been relatively hittable. Against Porier and Allen in particular, Hooker took a significant amount of damage. Overall, he looked to be on the decline, as the body can only take so much punishment.
A matchup against Turner did not seem to bode well for Hooker. Jalin may be the largest lightweight in the division, and has tremendous skills himself. Turner had just come off a split decision loss to Mateusz Gamrot that could have gone his way. His reach seemed like a nightmare matchup for Hooker, who himself typically enjoys being the longer fighter.
For much of the first two rounds, the fight looked concerning for Hooker fans. Jalin looked sharper, faster, and more accurate on the feet. Dan certainly found his moments, but Turner cracked him with hard shots. In the second round, Turned landed a flush head-kick that seemed to signal the beginning of the end. Hooker, in typical fashion, somehow stayed on his feet and returned fire. Finally, towards the end of the round, Hooker found his opportunity. He rocked Turner with an extended combination and nearly finished him.
Although Turner survived, he was noticeably compromised for the rest of the fight. Even so, he tagged Dan with several shots in the start of the third round. Hooker, however, was now in his element. Both fighters exchanged blows, but Dan continued to pressure forward somehow. He dropped Turner once more and controlled him on the ground for much of the round. Ultimately, Hooker did enough to secure the win over an extremely dangerous opponent.
This fight alone does not solve all of Dan’s problems. He still took an enormous amount of damage and ate shots that would have finished most others. He must continue to improve his defense to stand a chance against the division’s top contenders. That said, this win is arguably the most impressive of his career. Dan demonstrated his patented toughness and effective striking. He used kicks effectively and mixed in attacks to the body. Most importantly, Dan kept his focus in the pocket and landed strikes even while rocked, in contrast to the Arnold Allen fight. Whether Hooker goes on to win a title or not, this win adds to his impressive resume. In today’s age, a win over any ranked lightweight is hard to come by. Fans of back-and-forth action should hope to see many more fights from “The Hangman.”
Dan Hooker, image – South China Morning Post
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