Dan Hooker recently revealed how Joe Rogan is part of the “most incredible” moment of his UFC career.
The Kiwi made a convincing return to the win column against grappling specialist Claudio Puelles this past weekend at UFC 281. Hooker endured Puelles' persistent approach to chasing leg locks by maintaining his composure and utilizing his experience to come out on top.
Hooker launched a piercing body kick that stifled his opponent and emerged as the victor via TKO in the second round. Visibly exhilarated by his performance, Hooker planted a kiss on Joe Rogan's forehead in the post-fight octagon interview and said, "I love you Joe."
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The UFC lightweight contender recently posted an image of himself with Joe Rogan and jokingly wrote about the experience involving the world-renowned podcaster:
"I’ve had a ton of incredible moments throughout my career thus far. However none sweeter than my lips smooching the glorious dome of the legend that is @joerogan."
The victory at UFC 281 meant a great deal for Hooker, who was on a downward slant, having won only one fight in five previous outings. The 32-year-old is now targeting a fight at UFC 284, which is set to go down in Perth, Australia, on Feb. 11.
Joe Rogan reflects on Alex Pereira's rise in the UFC
Within four fights under the UFC banner, Alex Pereira has ascended to the top of the middleweight division, becoming the freshly crowned 185-pound champion at UFC 281. 'Poatan' defeated his kickboxing rival Israel Adesanya yet again and achieved this rare feat in just eight fights as a professional mixed martial artist.
The route to glory wasn't an easily accomplished task for the Brazilian. After evidently being hurt in the closing seconds of the first round and being dominated in the grappling exchanges, Pereira came back strong in the fifth round to find the finish.
Speaking of Pereira's rise to the top in the aftermath of UFC 281, Joe Rogan claimed that it was an unprecedented event in the sport's history:
"It's otherworldly [the accomplishment], and you know the difference is like, Israel ofcourse is a specialist, and that specialist is his striking... Alex Pereira is one of the greatest strikers in kickboxing history. He's a real killer and we saw it tonight that it translates to MMA. But boy did he get tested, especially in the first round."
Catch Joe Rogan's comments below: