Kiwi MMA fighter Dan Hooker finally got into the Octagon to face Jalin Turner at UFC 290 in Las Vegas. The bout that was supposed to take place in March was canceled due to Hooker’s hand injury. However, Hooker did not scrape through without an injury from this fight either.
After winning an insane contest against Turner to take his record to 23-12, Hooker was rushed to the hospital with a broken arm. He posted his X-ray on Instagram and stated “It’s just a scratch.”
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Fans were appalled with how Hooker managed to win the fight with a broken bone. He also suffered a huge blow right above his eye during the bout. One fan wrote, “My God you are gangster.”
Another wrote, “Absolute gigachad.”
Some fans matched Hooker’s energy of making it seem like the injury is not a big deal. One fan wrote, “Barely felt it.”
Meanwhile, another fan commended Hooker’s strength and quoted him, “Tough times don’t last, Dan hooker does.”
“Just a scratch”
Dan Hooker is a savage pic.twitter.com/1Rj0Gvt60t
— Bussin’ With The Boys (@BussinWTB) July 9, 2023
After the bout, Hooker was interviewed. Upon being asked about Turner, Hooker said, “He’s a tough kid. I wanted my hair pink from the fight and I got it.”
In a fun mood after the win, Hooker also said that his broken arm is “Just a scratch… we’ll have to see.”
Hooker came up with an extraordinary drive in his first fight of 2023 to get the better of Turner in Las Vegas. Let’s find out more about how the battle panned out.
Dan Hooker resurrected himself from a losing position to win via a split decision
A very solid first round took place between the fighters where both landed big blows but Turner likely won that round by a small margin as shown by the judge’s scorecards. The real fireworks took place in the second round.
Jalin ‘The Tarantula’ Turner came up with a nasty head kick that hit Hooker right above his eye and busted it open. Hooker was in serious trouble at that point. However, the Kiwi, who is known for his durability, stayed in the fight. The veteran fighter turned the tide and forced Turner to retreat. In the final seconds of the round, Hooker had Turner in a rear-naked choke. The timer came to Turner’s rescue.
The third round was another solid round but Hooker seemed to have control of it.
#UFC290 Official Scorecards: Jalin Turner vs Dan Hooker (@DanTheHangman)
See every scorecard here ➡️: https://t.co/LfRYMAVEVg pic.twitter.com/AhMEWJH3RP
— UFC News (@UFCNews) July 9, 2023
Two judges for the bout, Derek Cleary and Ron McCarthy, scored in favor of Hooker 29-28. The third judge, Adalaide Byrd, scored in favor of Turner 29-28. Hooker won the fight via split decision.
