Mateusz Gamrot and Dan Hooker at the UFC 305 weigh-in. Photo credit: Youtube/UFC
The main card of UFC 305 featured a bout between ranked lightweights Mateusz Gamrot and Dan Hooker, both coming off winning streaks.
Across the pond from New Zealand, “The Hangman” took on Poland’s Gamrot in Perth, Australia, with a slight home-field advantage. With three straight wins and the number 5 next to his name, Gamrot was in title contention. But a resurgent Dan Hooker has something to say about that. Proving Hooker can still pack a punch with a “Fight of the Night” win in his last bout, he looked set to be “The Hangman’s” troublemaker, just like he did to Jalin Turner in 2023.
As the match began, both fighters frequently switched stances, with many analysts trying to work out the tactical dynamics of this bout. Gamrot literally bruised Dunn’s eye with a right hand, inflicted a small cut, and took first blood. Two minutes in, Hooker landed a hard body kick, which Gamrot predictably converted into a takedown. The infamous low single. Dunn slid on his haunches to the fence, where Gamrot landed a few ground strikes, after which Dunn tried to climb up to the fence.
Suddenly, a short shot caught “The Hangman” off guard and sent him to his knees. Mateusz jumped on top, knocked him onto his back and landed ground strikes on the still-recovering Hooker. But Dan wasn’t done yet. He got to his feet and with a minute left, he landed a powerful right punch that knocked Gamrot down. The Pole retreated on shaky legs as Hooker went on the offensive. Gamrot managed to survive the round with some desperate takedowns and stalling for time.
The second round began with a roar from the Perth fans as Dan Hooker came forward. But Gamrot knew what to do. Waited for a body kick and got an easy takedown. He passed to side control in open space and maintained that control against Hooker, who didn’t put in much effort to get up in the second round. It took two full minutes, but Dan finally slid to the fence and used it to get to his feet. There, he landed a body shot that caused Gamrot to reset in discomfort, but in the next exchange, Mateusz countered with effective straight shots. With 90 seconds left, Gamrot went for another takedown. Hooker defended with the guillotine that gave him his nickname, and Gamrot rolled, losing top position on the escape.
Gamrot had Hooker up a tree at the start of the third round, cornering him to the fence before switching to a double. Dunne again forced Hooker into an alligator roll to escape, allowing the New Zealander to get to his feet. Hooker became more focused and aggressive in the third round, particularly targeting his opponent’s body. Gamrot’s defense began to consist mostly of covers and desperate retreats. Gamrot fought back with his own punches, which were more effective, but he was never able to escape the retreat.
Mateusz went for another takedown mid-round, but Dann predicted it and took him down easily. Gamrot landed a single leg-in-the-head shot against the fence with a minute left, but gave up again for a guillotine. Hooker came out fiercer after that, but Gamrot retaliated with right hands and clinch control. He went for another takedown, but ended up on his knees and Hooker drove an elbow into his side. In the final seconds of the bout, he got up and swung until the bell rang, and Dann landed one big left hook in the final exchange of fire.
Dan Hooker had the upper hand in the third round, but Mateusz had been in firm control and had done so much damage in the first two that the scorecards could have gone either way. As expected, the judges were divided, and Bruce Buffer announced the third and final scorecard for Dan Hooker, with a tense arena and Australian fight fans hanging on every word.
He quickly grabbed the microphone and, indignant at being beaten in a grappling match by some people, yelled, “What about me now?”
Dan Hooker declared he wanted every single ranked fighter after beating a top-five opponent, and there was clearly too much joy to give a single answer to the question, “Who’s next?”
Official result: Dan Hooker defeats Mateusz Gamrot via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
