Dan Hooker is officially back in the winning circle, defeating Claudio Puelles in the first fight of UFC 281's main card.
Hooker’s experience against the up-and-comer was too much for Puelles to handle, with the Ngāti Maniapoto fighter grabbing a second-round TKO victory.
Imanari rolls from Puelles did not pay off for the Peruvian, with Hooker getting out of an ankle lock in the first round. Further attempts at the grappling move also failed in the second round, with Hooker still picking Puelles apart with punches.
Dan is back! Credit: Facebook / UFC.
After Puelles absorbed too many front kicks to his body, the referee called a stop to the fight, awarding Hooker the TKO victory in the second round.
With UFC making its return to Western Australia in February next year, Hooker let the world know where he wants to fight next.
“Perth – I’m coming for you. Any man walking this earth can get it.”
Kia ora Perth, this is Dan speaking. Credit: Facebook / UFC.
Not Riddell's night
It wasn't such a good evening for another NZ fighter, Brad Riddell, however. His night was cut short, losing to Brazilian, Renato Moicano, in the main fight of the preliminary card.
The Kiwi absorbed a number of strikes from the start, including a big body knee and lots of jabs. When he failed to get the better end of a takedown, Moicano scrambled to get on top of Riddell’s back to sink in a choke hold for the first-round submission win.
This is Riddell’s third straight loss in the octagon.
So far it is 2-1 in wins and losses for the New Zealand cohort of fighters competing at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Carlos Ulberg kicked off the event in the early prelims with a first-round KO over Romanian, Nicolae Negumereanu.
Still to come is the UFC 218 main event, with Israel Adesanya defending his middleweight title against former kickboxing opponent Alex Pereira.
