Dan Hooker's Durability is why he is so dangerous

Kaiokenrye24

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In the finishing exchange he gets hit right on the chin against Gilbert Burns but stayed in the pocket to deliver the knock out punch. He also took some big shots earlier in the fight but ramped up the pressure. He has never been ko'd at fw, but moving up to lw has made him a harder hit and is allowing him to use his length and wide range of strikes.

I think he has a shot against anyone at 155
 
He has a good chin for sure. He got cracked a few times really well.

Burns also looked great before the KO.

Hooker seems like someone to watch out for.
 
Yeah no doubt. He was a total Chris Leben type zombie in the Maximo Blanco fight. Took an insane amount of flush power shots. He's improved a ton since and is in the right weight class now, plus dat chin.
 
I've noticed this also.

He's basically taken the Chuck Liddell approach to striking. Lead with his face in order to deliver the fatal shots.

It seems to be working. It's a matter of time until it doesn't. However it could be quite a while so lets enjoy.
 
he is the 155 version of whittaker right now. He's gone from extremely mediocre at 145 to looking unstoppable at 155.
 
During the fight, I was watching K1 Burns and thought "he's gonna get ko'd eventually if he doesn't use his bjj". Then bam!
 
This is not going to last and we all know how this could end (Chuck Lidell)....If he wants a long career in MMA He needs to improve his defense...
 
He has the potential for great defense. In both the Burns and the Pearson fight, he was using his footwork to frustrate his opponents' attempts to land on him which lead to them wildly swinging and opening up the knockout blow. That shot from Burns wasn't necessarily a knockout punch because of how he threw it, whereas Hooker's shot was perfectly placed.
 
he is the 155 version of whittaker right now. He's gone from extremely mediocre at 145 to looking unstoppable at 155.
I mean, he has looked good. But he has just beaten 4 unranked fighters lol. Nothing big just yet.
 
Missed that last fight of his, ultra impressed by my fellow Kiwi!
 
Yeah to be honest I've loved picking hooker in recent bouts

When he fought diakese it was his durability that made me go against the grain on the pick

I watched him go to hell and back with Yair and ever since I've noted it
 
I mean, he has looked good. But he has just beaten 4 unranked fighters lol. Nothing big just yet.
All 4 guys he beat have winning records in the UFC. Very few guys can say that.

edit: Pearson doesn't.
 
His nick-name should be "The High-Dollar".
 
The guy can bang... should gain a lot of casuals while climbing the rankings.
 
He's not a small LW either. Hard to believe he was fighting at FW. Some of these fighters who cut too much should be paying attention to Dan Hooker.
He said himself he couldn't even think straight strategy-wise in the cage when he was cutting that much.
 
I mean, he has looked good. But he has just beaten 4 unranked fighters lol. Nothing big just yet.

I'm guessing you're not on the wagon just yet. lol

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Any good hooker has to be able to take a beating.
 
I've noticed this also.

He's basically taken the Chuck Liddell approach to striking. Lead with his face in order to deliver the fatal shots.

It seems to be working. It's a matter of time until it doesn't. However it could be quite a while so lets enjoy.

He's not at Gaethje level yet, so I'm not worried. He only really ate two - three solid shots in his last fight. That's not bad for a fight.
 
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He's not at Gaethje level yet, so I'm not worried. He only really ate two-3 solid shots in his last fight. That's not bad for a fight.
He would be known as the defensive wizard if he fought Gaethje. lol
 
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