Perhaps flying a little under the radar, the clash of styles that was Dan Hooker vs. Claudio Puelles was nonetheless a promising match-up at Saturday’s UFC 281.
Hooker may have been 1-4 in his last five to start the night, but remained a fan favorite and dangerous fighter as he returned to the lightweight division. Puelles, who would undoubtedly have the edge on the ground, had three kneebar submissions in his last five UFC fights, making it clear what sort of fight he wanted to make it on Saturday.
A bit of a loose kickboxing bout played out early in the PPV card opener between Puelles and Hooker, with Puelles checking a leg kick or two. Hooker also fired kicks upstairs, and while nothing was particularly impactful, the result was Puelles being forced to the outside. Hooker continued to fight long, forcing Puelles to take extreme measures — an Imanari roll, and he landed it! Puelles grabbed the leg, rolling with it, and Hooker was forced to defend a knee bar. In the ensuing scramble, Hooker managed to get to the back, but even there, dry and on the ground, City Kickboxing’s Hooker was in dangerous territory.
Case in point, Puelles transitioned to a heel hook, giving Hooker more cause for concern. Luckily for Hooker, Puelles wasn’t in position, and Hooker managed to transition to the top — then, wisely, he stood back up. Another Imanari roll fell short for Puelles, who apparently wanted nothing to do with the stand-up of Hooker, despite little landing outside the opening moments of the round.
The lesson learned from round one was clear: Puelles wanted no part of a stand-up fight. Hooker, though he did survive the first engagement on the ground, did not want to be back there.
Round two saw Hooker back Puelles up and cap a combo off with a high kick. A Hooker right hand then forced Pielles into a desperation takedown attempt that fell short. Hooker landed a left jab. A left hook caught Puelles, who dove in on a leg. Hooker answered with a guillotine, forcing Puelles to back off. Puelles went back to the well, attempting an Imanari roll, which was well short this time, and earned a chorus of boos from the Madison Square Garden crowd. Another sloppy takedown attempt from Puelles saw him catch a leg, only for Hooker to pull free. A better single-leg attempt, with Puelles well in on the leg, followed. But Hooker sprawled, and Puelles stalled in his tracks.
Back up, Puelles landed, but Hooker hurt his foe care of a teep kick. Puelles was slow to get back up after Hooker backed off; a sloppy cartwheel attempt followed. Another body kick from Hooker, once again a teep, sent Puelles backpedaling; he went down, apparently wanting to lure Hooker in, but the ref had seen enough. He called off the affair, giving Hooker a much-needed TKO win.
THE HANGMAN IS BACK!!!
[ @DanTheHangman | #UFC281 ] pic.twitter.com/rRl9Oer1qu
— UFC (@ufc) November 13, 2022
Official Result: Dan Hooker def. Claudio Pielles by TKO (teep kick), Round 2, 4:06
