Dan Hooker was not pleased with his overall performance against Dustin Poirier.
The pair fought to a five-round war in their lightweight headliner last summer in what many observers had as a potential fight of the year candidate.
And although Hooker had a very promising start, he eventually faded towards the end of the fight with Poirier landing a number of brutal power shots on him. In the end, “The Diamond” returned to the win column with a unanimous decision win over Hooker.
And while the New Zealander’s stock went up in defeat, he actually felt he performed terribly over the course of the fight.
“Yeah, you can take a lot of lessons,” Hooker told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani of lessons he could take from the Poirier fight. “This is one sport where you have to be very honest with yourself about. … I can take the positive that I thought I fought terribly and that I went five rounds and almost won and I fought, in my opinion, I felt I fought terribly.
“I feel like the last few I haven’t been fighting at the way I’m capable of fighting. And I feel like I can use those fights as developments. I feel like I’m at a point now where everything’s coming together. And Michael Chandler’s the perfect opponent to have everything come together.”
As for what parts specifically, Hooker further explained:
“Technical issues. The way I fought, the style in which I fought. Very defensively irresponsible. Just a number of things. None of my coaches were happy with it. I got no pats on the back from any of my coaches with the result of that fight so that speaks volumes.
“From the technical aspect, I feel like I really just let myself down.”
Hooker: Chandler Is Not Unpredictable
Hooker will undoubtedly look to return to the win column in emphatic fashion when takes on promotional debutant Michael Chandler in the co-main event of UFC 257 on January 23.
And unlike other opponents, Hooker feels Chandler is much more predictable with his fighting style. That’s why he believes everything will come together against the former Bellator lightweight champion.
“I believe I understand his game,” Hooker added. “I believe his game is pretty straight forward. He’s not like a Tony Ferguson where it’s going to be completely unpredictable as to how he approaches the fights or the strikes he chooses to throw.
“I feel like he’s fundamental and it’s a style which I understand.”
One thing is for sure — it promises to be one heck of a fight.
