"Without the humble pie, I wouldn't be the fighter I am” - Dan Hooker reflects on WAR with Dustin Poirier as big reason he's won last two fights

Dan Hooker and Dustin Poirier faced off in the main event of UFC Vegas 4 in July 2020.

The fight was billed as the new guard of the lightweight division taking on the old. Hooker entered the octagon having won seven of his previous eight fights, while 'The Diamond' was coming off a title defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242.

Dan Hooker and Dustin Poirier went to war for 25 minutes in one of the most brutal fights the UFC Apex has witnessed. 'The Hangman' had Poirier hurt several times in the first two rounds, before 'The Diamond' rallied and took over the remaining three, winning a unanimous decision.

Hooker went 1-3 in the four fights after his war with Poirier, but he has found his old form with back-to-back wins over Claudio Puelles and Jalin Turner. 'The Hangman' pointed to lessons learned from his war with Poirier as the reason his hand has been raised in his last two UFC fights.

During a recent interview with Combat TV, Dan Hooker said:

"I hit [Poirier] with the kitchen sink, and he just cruises through... The things I learned in that fight have helped me win my last two fights... With [Puelles], I kept quiet but he fractured my knee, he wrecked my knee. But same thing, I wasn't concerned." [14:08-14:38]

He continued:

"Same thing when I'm fighting Turner. He's teeing off on me, and hitting me, rocking me and kicking me in the head, and I was staying cool. And I looked at him and I was like, he's panicking! He's beating the cr*p out of me and he's the one having a panic attack... [if] I never had that humble pie from Dustin Poirier, then I wouldn't be the fighter I am today." [14:40-15:10]

Watch the interview below:

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Doctor shares worrying prediction for Dan Hooker's broken arm following medical clearance

Dan Hooker suffered a broken arm and fractured his orbital bone in his war with Jalin Turner at UFC 290. But the injuries did not hamper 'The Hangman', who gritted his way to a unanimous decision victory.

Hooker stated during his interview with Combat TV that he would ideally like to return to competition in December.

He was medically cleared to compete in September, but an orthopedic surgeon recently shared a worrying prediction for Hooker's arm.

Dr. David Abbasi took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote:

"Of note-he’s MORE LIKELY to fracture again under plate in future. [Think Rob Gronkowski]. Plate is stiffer then bone, creates stress riser. So sometimes we remove plate in future to prevent this."

See the post below: