With the opportunity to step into a UFC lightweight title shot, Dan Hooker was stopped at the door.
The Kiwi fell to a second-round submission in his main event bout against No 1-ranked Arman Tsarukyan in Qatar, tapping out to an arm triangle choke.
Coming into the meetingin Doha, neither athlete had been in the octagon for more than a year and neither had lost a bout since 2022.
But while there were parallels to their respective pathways to headlining the UFC’s first event in Qatar, the well-documented differences in their approaches inside the cage played out as 29-year-old Tsarukyan was able to dominate the fight with his grappling.
The tone for the bout was set at the face-off after the pair weighed in, as Tsarukyan headbutted Hooker and the two had to be separated. Hooker did, however, initiate a glove touch before the action got under way.
It took less than a minute for Tsarukyan to shoot for a takedown. Hooker, who went into the bout ranked at No 6 in the division, initially defended it well but the Armenian landed a good knee as they returned to distance.
Arman Tsarukan submitted Dan Hooker with an arm triangle choke. Photo / Getty Images
While Hooker was expected to have the advantage at range and had some success with kicks, Tsarukyan’s striking was sharp and asked plenty of questions of Hooker’s defence.
It forced the Hangman to get creative; reminding fans why he got the nickname as he tried to lock up a guillotine choke.
It’s a move that can double as a defence to takedown attempts, but Tsarukyan was wise to it and ended the first round in top position.
Hooker appeared to take the brunt of a head clash midway through the round, with his left eye swollen.
Dan Hooker was submitted by Arman Tsarukyan in the second round of their UFC main event in Qatar. Photo / Getty Images
The 35-year-old attempted another guillotine early in the second round, which Tsarukyan was again able to shake off and instead use to his advantage. That gave him top position with four minutes to work with, which was too long for Hooker to defend.
As he has done in past fights, Tsarukyan worked well from top position, looking to use his elbows and punches to get Hooker out of there early. When the Kiwi defended, Tsarukyan adjusted and instead found the submission.
The loss continued Hooker’s poor record in the Middle East – now 0-3 after losses to Michael Chandler and current welterweight champion Islam Makhachev in Abu Dhabi in 2021.
He also again falls out of the title picture at seemingly the final hurdle. Such was the case with his loss to Chandler, as the American went on to challenge for the lightweight title in his following bout.
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.
