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In the main event of tonight's UFC Vegas 4, Dustin Poirier made his highly-awaited return to the Octagon for the first time since his loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242.
Poirier's counterpart, Dan Hooker was on the back of a huge win over Paul Felder in what was the former's first main event. This was the second headliner of Hooker's career.
The fight would also possibly decide the next #1 contender for the UFC Lightweight Championship, with Khabib and Justin Gaethje set for an Undisputed World Title fight.
Dustin Poirier and Dan Hooker give us an all-time classic
Tonight's main event was everything that we hoped for.
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The fight began at a moderate pace, as Dan Hooker caught Dustin Poirier with some solid shots. Poirier was well aware of the power that Hooker possessed and also was well aware of the latter's infamous knee strikes, however, the former interim Lightweight Champ stuck to his gameplan and played out the first round nicely. Hooker did slightly look the better of the two fighters.
Round #2 and easily the Round of the Year so far. The two men started exchanging in the right in the middle of the cage and almost kept going at each other for the next five minutes. Both Hooker and Poirier caught each other with everything and at one point it did seem like we would get a finish.
The third round began and both fighters took things a bit slow in the early stages, but both men were definitely looking for a finish here. Hooker caught Poirier with an early left but Poirier answered back with a combo. 'The Diamond' took Poirier down and tried to lock in the guillotine choke, however, Hooker popped his head out, as the fight continued on the ground. The round ended with a few shots from Poirier.
Championship rounds and slow exchanges between the two. Hooker scored a nice takedown but the experienced Dustin Poirier got back up almost in no time. The latter with some solid ground and pound and then tried his best to lock in the armbar. The round eventually played out with Hooker landing some solid shots.
The final round and both fighters are obviously very tired at this point. Poirier caught his opponent with a solid punch but Hooker scored a late takedown, only for the former to nicely defend it. Poirier connected with a few more punches in the final round and ended the fight on top position.
Dustin Poirier beats Dan Hooker
The fight was taken to the judges' scorecard and Dustin Poirier walked out as the winner, via a final scorecard of 48-47 (x2), 48-46. In the post fight interview, 'The Diamond' stated that he will be getting back with his family and added that he could possibly return to the Octagon before the end of the year.
