UFC On ESPN 12 Stats And Video Highlights From Dustin Poirier Vs. Dan Hooker

Dustin Poirier’s dreams of becoming the undisputed UFC lightweight champion hit a snag last year when Khabib Nurmagomedov submitted him in the third round of their September title unification bout. Poirier carried the interim title with him into the octagon on that night. He left with his first loss since 2016.

Last night Poirier returned to the octagon for the first time since that setback. Poirier faced Dan Hooker in the main event of UFC on ESPN 12. Poirier was the favorite entering the contest. Hooker was on a three-fight winning streak.

Hooker started the fight fast. By the time the first five minutes ended, Hooker had landed more strikes than the former interim champion.

Hooker had his best five minutes in the second round. He landed 67 percent of his significant strikes while Poirier landed at a 57 percent clip.

Hooker began to fade in the third round. With this being Hooker’s second career main event, Hooker is still working on fine tuning his energy expenditure over the course of five round bouts. As for Poirier, UFC on ESPN 12 marked his sixth straight main event outing. Cardio has never been Poirier’s problem.

Both fighters had excellent striking success in the final 10 minutes. Poirier landed 71 percent and 75 percent of his significant strike attempts during rounds four and five. Felder landed at a 78 percent rate and a 71 percent rate.

Poirier won the scrap by decision.

Before the fight even came to a close, it was being discussed as a potential “Fight of the Year.” In the end the lightweight scrap won “Fight of the Night” honors.

It’s hard to tell where the fighters go from here. Poirier said he might sit out until 2021 to spend some time with his family following his win.

UFC on ESPN 12 took place at UFC Apex and was broadcast on ESPN. ESPN+ also streamed the fight card.