MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month for August: Dan Hooker lives up to promises against Mateusz Gamrot
Dan Hooker overcame the grappling threats of Mateusz Gamrot to pick up a hard-fought win at UFC 305.
The lightweight bout was part of the UFC 305 main card at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, and saw Hooker (24-12 MMA, 14-8 UFC) and Gamrot (24-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) present the best of their games. After 15 minutes, the judges were split, issuing duelling 29-28 scores. Two of the scorecards favored Hooker’s work in the striking department.
The classic grappler vs. striker matchup played out exactly as one would think, as both fighters played to their strengths. But Gamrot surprised Hooker early with a fast combination of punches upstairs. A few moments later, Gamrot brought the fight to his world.
Hooker weathered a storm of ground and pound strikes before returning to his feet and cracking Gamrot with punches, bringing the crowd to life. Hooker hunted for a finish, but Gamrot remained poised to see the end of a very wild opening round.
Gamrot didn’t waste time getting the fight to the ground in Round 2, quickly implementing his smothering ground game. Midway through the round, though, Hooker returned to his feet and got back on the hunt with strikes. It didn’t take long for Gamrot to get back in on the hips, but he had to deal with hard elbows and guillotine threats as Hooker sprawled.
“I love this sh*t!” Hooker said while laughing in the corner between rounds.
With five minutes to go and the fight seemingly up for grabs, Hooker denied an early takedown and led the striking battle. Between takedown attempts, Gamrot managed to land a few strikes, but was mostly outstruck in the final exchanges.
