Edson Barboza Totally Brutalized Dan Hooker in This One… The New Zealand Fighter Can at Least Say He’s Tough as They Come…
Last week in Toronto, Brian Ortega took a bad beating from Max Holloway but was roundly praised for showing a lot of heart. Dan Hooker definitely deserves a medal for taking one of the worst batterings of the year, as Brazil’s Edson Barboza savaged the New Zealand fighter.
It’s easy to forget just how good Barboza is when you look at his recent record. He’s been shut down in two of his most recent fights against Khabib Nurmagamedov and Kevin Lee, who just dominated him on the ground, prevented him from implementing some of the most exciting stand-up in the sport.
Against Hooker, he had no such problems. He venemously savaged his opponent’s legs and shut him down in a performance that is sure to keep him near the top of the lightweight pile.
These leg kicks 😳 #UFCMilwaukee pic.twitter.com/p0ukZBOVgA
— UFC (@ufc) December 16, 2018
Battered
Hooker was seen by many as a dark horse in the division. He was infuriated by the UFC for not giving him the level of opponent he felt he deserved. They decided to shut him up by feeding him to Barboza who leg kicked him into oblivion. Watch the clip above and see just how bad they are.
The New Zealand native does well to stay on his feet as his legs are almost kicked from beneath him with ferocious power. It’s reminiscent of Jose Aldo in his heyday before ‘Junior’ somehow forgot to use one of his most effective and devastating weapons.
Stunned him!
MASSIVE shot from @EdsonBarbozaJR! #UFCMilwaukee pic.twitter.com/v8JxUL1Ydn
— UFC (@ufc) December 16, 2018
Heart
One thing you can say about Hooker is that he definitely has a heart. He took so much damage in this fight and it could easily have been stopped by the referee a lot earlier. Barboza tagged him at will in the second, landing heavy, clean, crisp shots, and it was all that Hooker could do to hang on and survive.
The finish came in the third and final round. Hooker had Barboza up against the fence, but the Brazilian was able to spin out and catch him with a kick to the liver. Hooker, like an absolute madman, went full Korean Zombie. He continued to plod forward with venom in his eyes until a vicious, sniper-like shot caught him clean in the liver. Boom. One shot KO. This fight was finally over.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=34&v=z4GbkO6UwBQ
Disgusted
Daniel Cormier was co-commentating the fight and he was absolutely disgusted by what went down. While he praised Barboza’s performance and Hooker’s heart, he made his feelings clear. He believes that the fight went much further than it needed to and that the New Zealander’s corner or the referee should have intervened earlier to end the fight.
Until a high-profile cornerman does that though, it seems unlikely that we’re going to see it happen in MMA. Fighters need more protection from themselves, as much as from their opponents. This sort of fight could take years off Hooker’s career or cause him health problems down the line. It’s time to get smarter.
