Dustin Poirier is back on track after beating Dan Hooker in an instant lightweight classic. The former interim champion took on his New Zealand foe in the UFC Apex, Las Vegas. To sum up, this was a savage war and definitely the best fight since Weili Zhang v Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

Both men poured all of their skill, heart, grit, and violence into this glorious battle. In the end, it was Poirier who walked away as the victor, but Hooker definitely won the respect of fans. The UFC also soothed him with a fight-of-the-night bonus.

Check out the full highlights from this frankly ludicrous clash below. If you’re squeamish you should probably stop scrolling because there is blood. Hooker was wearing a mask by the end of the fight.

Savagery

Words can’t properly describe how epic this fight was, but we’ll try anyway. Hooker put on a clinic in the first two rounds as he almost finished ‘The Diamond’ in the second stanza. Both men put on brilliant displays of striking. However, Hooker slowed in the third and Poirier was able to get a read on his movements.

After the sheer violence of the first two rounds, the two men became more technical as the find neared conclusion. Hooker kept looking for the takedown but Poirier was very effective from the bottom and clearly damaged the New Zealander from below. In the end, it was Poirier who walked away with a unanimous decision win.

Hiatus

For Poirier, this was redemption after a tough loss to Khabib Nurmagamedov last year. But he’s not planning on rushing back despite the brilliance of his win. He spoke of the toll that fighting takes on the mind as well as the body.

“Maybe I’ll fight at the end of the year, maybe I’ll fight next year. I don’t know,” Poirier said. “I just want to go home to be with my daughter. It was the longest layoff of my career. I had to take nine months off and sit on the sidelines and I couldn’t put weight on my leg for eight weeks. I’d to overcome some things. I want to stay in love with this sport and I don’t want to push myself to where I hate this. I just want to do it right and give it my all the right way.”

Head Held High

Hooker lost the fight but he still held his head up high afterward. As he should, because he gave everything in the first couple of rounds. Poirier is just next level tough. However, ‘The Hangman’ will have to spend two weeks in isolation with his team when they get back to New Zealand. He spoke on Instagram about his situation but didn’t seem downbeat. The man is still laser-focused on getting to the top.

“I got checked out the hospital,” Hooker said in his statement. “Everything’s all good. Just a couple stitches on the eye, but that’s the game we play. No worries. It’s just a small setback and I’ll be back.”

Meanwhile, Poirier reminds the world that he’s one of the best in the world. Perhaps its time for a clash with Tony Ferguson. The pair haven’t fought yet but it would definitely seal the winner as a future title contender again. Either that or a rematch with Conor McGregor. He’ll definitely hope that Justin Gaethje beats Khabib.

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