Winning streaks clashed when ranked lightweights Mateusz Gamrot and Dan Hooker squared off in UFC 305’s featured main card bout.
Crossing the small pond from New Zealand, ‘The Hangman’ had a slight home-field advantage in Perth, Australia as he welcomed Poland’s Gamrot down under. With three straight wins and the number five next to his name, Gamrot has inserted himself in the title conversation. However a resurging Dan Hooker had something to say about that. With a ‘Fight of the Night’ victory in his last fight proving that Hooker still can bring the violence, he looked to play spoiler to ‘Gamer’ as he just had to Jalin Turner in 2023.
Both men switched stances frequently when the fight began which would create a tactical dynamic which many analysts sought to break down for this fight. Gamrot drew first blood, literally, with a right hand that bruised Dan’s eye and opened a small cut. Two minutes in Hooker landed a hard body kick but Gamrot expectedly turned it into a takedown — his infamous low single. Dan butt-scooted to the fence where Gamrot landed a few ground strikes before Dan worked his way up.
Suddenly, a short shot caught ‘Hangman’ off guard and he fell to a knee. Mateusz jumped on top, pushed him to his back, and teed off with ground strikes against a still-recovering Hooker. However Dan was not done. He got back up and with one minute left he landed a big right hand that dropped Gamrot. The Pole retreated on shaky legs while Hooker unloaded on him. Gamrot only survived the round by shooting a desperate takedown and stalling.
The second round started to a cacophony from the Perth fans as Dan Hooker pressed forward. Yet Gamrot knew what to do; he waited for the body kick and got an easy takedown. He passed to side control in open space and maintained that control on a Hooker who did not work as hard to get up in the second round. It took two full minutes but Dan did finally scoot to the fence and use it to get to his feet. There he landed a body shot which made Gamrot reset in discomfort, but Mateusz fired back with effective straight shots in the next exchange. With ninety seconds left Gamrot shot another takedown. Hooker defended with the guillotine which gave him his nickname which forced Gamrot to roll and lose top position in his escape.
Gamrot began round three by treetopping Hooker, running him to the fence, and then switching to the double. Dan again forced him to gator roll to escape, allowing the Kiwi to stand back up. Hooker was more focused and aggressive in the third round, targeting the body of his foe especially. The defense of Gamrot began to consist mostly of just covering up and desperate retreats. Gamrot fired back with his own punches, which was more effective, but he could never get off the back foot.
Mateusz shot another takedown halfway through the round but Dan saw it coming and sprawled it out easily. Gamrot shot a head inside single leg against the fence with one minute left, but the guillotine again made him bail on it. Hooker turned up the intensity even more thereafter, though Gamrot made him pay with a right hand and some clinch control. He dropped for another takedown but only ended up on his knees where Hooker could smash elbows into his side. The final seconds of the fight saw then stand back up and swing to the bell, with Dan landing one big left hook in that final exchange.
The third round was dominant for Dan Hooker, but with solid control time and damage in the first two rounds for Mateusz, the scorecards could have gone either way. As was predictable, the judges were split. With a tense arena of fight fans down under hanging on every word, Bruce Buffer announced the third and final scorecard for Dan Hooker.
He immediately got on the mic and yelled, “How do you like me now?” in indignation at being counted out in the grappling by some.
After beating a top five opponent, Dan Hooker declared he wants anyone and everyone in the rankings, clearly too jubilant to give a singular answer to the question of, “Who’s next?”
Official Result: Dan Hooker def. Mateusz Gamrot by Split Decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
