It was a rough night for a number of the UFC’s top stars on Saturday, and two of them came away from UFC 290 in Las Vegas with broken limbs.
Following Saturday’s event, which closed out the 2023 International Fight Week, UFC President Dana White confirmed to media outlets including Cageside Press that Dan Hooker had suffered a fracture. “He did break his wrist, his wrist was broken in the second round,” said White, confirming what had been openly speculated on during the PPV card’s broadcast. “And [Brandon] Moreno did break his hand in the first round,” White added.
While Hooker at least came away from UFC 290 with a hard-fought win over Jalin Turner (here’s to hoping the pair will receive a couple of locker room bonuses, as they were left out of the official post-fight bonus money), Moreno simply adds injury to insult. He wound up losing his flyweight title to Alexandre Pantoja, the fight going the distance and ending in a split decision.
It is the third time Mexico’s Moreno has lost to Brazilian Pantoja. The pair first met as part of The Ultimate Fighter 24, in an exhibition contest. In that outing, Pantoja picked up a submission win; in 2018, they met again in the UFC proper. That time out, Pantoja took home a unanimous decision win.
Following UFC 290 on Saturday, Hooker posted an x-ray of the damage sustained.
🤷♂️ pic.twitter.com/RRhfa6CVbt
— Dan Hangman Hooker (@danthehangman) July 9, 2023
