THE FINAL event hosted at the UFC Apex Centre before heading over to Fight Island delivered on action, headlined by an incredible main event bout between world class lightweights, Dustin Poirier and Dan Hooker. ‘The Diamond’ took home his fifth win in six fights after a lengthy layoff, capping a card which boasted six finishes; including four by third round submission and two via first round knockout.

‘Platinum’ Mike Perry was another to impress in his co-main event nod, with twists and turns as crazy as the man’s personality littered down an incredibly entertaining Fight Night.

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MAIN CARD

Dustin Poirier [3] def. Dan Hooker [5] | Decision (unanimous) 48-47, 48-47, 48-46

We are struggling to find the right words and superlatives to describe just how insane this fight was. Just trust us, it was nuts. The words of Dustin Poirier perhaps sum it up best; “a fight isn’t a fight until you’re forced to overcome something”. What a perfect look into the mindset of the former interim lightweight champ, who made an emphatic return to the octagon with a grinding decision victory over fifth-ranked contender, Dan Hooker.

It came on the back of the longest break of Poirier’s career, nearly 10 months removed from his title bout against Khabib Nurmagomedov. He was truly made to work, down two rounds to nil on all three judges’ scorecards despite throwing his all into putting Hooker away early. The longer, calmer New Zealander worked well to absorb Poirier’s punishing combinations while also chopping at the lead leg with nasty calf kicks.

The back and forth contest was fought at a crazy pace, with Poirier winging wild hooks with his back to the fence proving successful within boxing range, with Hooker desperate to find distance. A more methodical and much slower third round saw Hooker take Poirier down, but he fell right into the American’s patented guillotine and had to resist a triangle attempt to make it into the championship rounds.

While Hooker has proven time and time again that he is much more than just a kickboxer, Poirier showcased his superior diversity by faring better in grappling exchanges. Hooker would often initiate the wrestling with takedown attempts, but Poirier continued to turn out from bottom and snatch up guillotines to get back to his feet. Poirier took out the fourth round after landing a takedown of his own, trapping Hooker’s legs and looking for late submissions.

It was all on the line in Round 5 with the ledger locked at 2-2, and Poirier put his championship calibre skills on full display as he finished the much stronger fighter, picking off Hooker with single shots and resisting each takedown attempt with that defensive guillotine option. In a true show of grit, ‘The Diamond’ sent a message to his fellow 155-pound elites – he is here to stay.

We had it: 48-47 Poirier – a bunch of tight rounds but we can agree with the judges that Poirier finished the stronger of the two. Round 5 could have been a 10-8 to Poirier, with one judge instead opting for that exact score in the fourth.

Mike Perry def. Mickey Gall | Decision (unanimous) 29-28, 29-28, 29-28

No coaches, no problem. Mike Perry turned in a tremendous performance against Mickey Gall in their co-main event dig, taking out two rounds to one in all three judges’ scorecards. Cornered by his other half, Perry showcased confidence in his heavy hands, walking Gall down while also working his strong takedown defence, and dominating each grappling position.

There was no doubting that the two came to scrap, and Gall looked quite comfortable early with his longer, straight punches landing in exchanges on the feet. Gall’s early success may have seen him take out Round 1 despite a big slam from Perry, but the second and third periods belonged to the latter.

Perry landed takedowns of his own while remaining savvy to all of Gall’s transitions on the mat, he went very close to getting a finish after dropping his opponent with a couple of nicely placed right hands. He was simply the fresher fighter after three rounds and proved much more effective, improving his record to 14-6 with over four minutes of top control.

Maurice Greene def. Gian Villante | Submission (arm-triangle) 3:44 Rd 3

This one meant a lot to ‘The Crochet Boss’ Maurice Greene, who arrested a two-fight skid with his incredible clutch submission of heavyweight debutant, Gian Villante. While Greene could well have been up by two rounds, it seemed the fight was still up for grabs in Round 3, and Villante was running away with it having dropped the 6’7 American.

Villante’s corner lauded him to let his hands go after punishing Greene with leg kicks, while the latter pushed a decent pace throughout. Greene showed his heart after being skittled by a heavy counter left punch from Villante, followed by some mean ground-and-pound elbows which very nearly ended the fight.

But Villante seemed to have emptied the tank in searching for the finish, falling into an arm-triangle choke and tapping with just over a minute left in the bout. Exhaustion surely played a factor, with the submission from bottom coming somewhat as a surprise as Greene looked to simply be stalling in the position.

Brendan Allen def. Kyle Daukaus | Decision (unanimous) 29-28, 29-27, 30-27

Two Contender Series graduates with incredible grappling prowess put it all on the line in their main card slot, with Brendan Allen doing enough to get the nod over Kyle Daukaus after three brutal rounds of action. It was Allen’s seventh-straight win, and his third in the UFC.

Fans ultimately got what they were promised out of these two with some wonderfully technical exchanges on the mat, punishing ground-and-pound, and free-flowing submission work. While a finish was not achieved, Allen left the formerly undefeated prospect a bloody mess and earned a nice shiner of his own in the process.

While Daukaus looked more comfortable on the feet with his sharp boxing combinations, he was crumbled by a huge Allen knee up the middle in Round 1, who then looked to secure the neck before laying heavy ground-and-pound.

Daukaus seemed unfazed and returned to his boxing-to-wrestling gameplan in the second, but Allen’s ability to use the guillotine to reverse position and end up on top allowed him to again control proceedings. A shot slightly after the bell dropped Daukaus, who displayed incredible toughness in the face of a potential 10-8 period against him.

The third round arguably belonged to Daukaus, who dropped some big elbows of his own and threatened the rear-naked choke multiple times, but could not quite break down Allen’s defence. The latter eventually broke the body triangle late and finished with a flurry, escaping another potential 10-8 result – only this time, not in his favour.

We had it: 29-27 Allen – Allen takes Round 1 10-9 and the second 10-8, before relinquishing Round 3 10-9. He had done more than enough.

Takashi Sato def. Jason Witt | TKO (punches) 0:48 Rd 1

The night’s theme of short notice success ended via the straight left hand of Takashi Sato, as he took out late replacement Jason Witt within the first round. It was a swift display from the Japanese welterweight, who dropped Witt with a beautiful left hand to follow the jab, and chased his opponent down to the ground.

Witt seemed to still have his bearings about him as he looked to grab a single leg and recover on the mat, but Sato continued to head hunt and left the referee no choice but to save the American from some nasty ground-and-pound.

Julian Erosa def. Sean Woodson | Submission (D’Arce choke) 2:44 Rd 3

What a way to kick off the main card. Julian Erosa would not be denied in his late notice call-up to face formerly undefeated prospect Sean Woodson, eating everything the former boxer threw over 13 minutes to submit him via D’Arce choke in Round 3.

Woodson looked so impressive in the early goings, flowing in his striking game with quick, long shots and a range of looks to keep Arosa at distance. Lauded for his toughness, Erosa would continue to march forward through Woodson’s barrages, smothering his length and turning the tide with nice body shots in Round 2.

It was an odd fight to call, with plenty to be made of Erosa’s pressure and durability, but Woodson’s precision ultimately seeing him remain on top. Erosa ensured a call would not be required despite being dropped with a big left hand in the third, and jumped on his opportunity to sink in the decisive submission having constantly remained in Woodson’s face.

The win not only snapped a three-fight losing skid for Erosa, but also marked an incredible turnaround from being cut from the promotion, to clutching a return win on five days’ notice after looking down and out.

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PRELIMINARY CARD

Khama Worthy def. Luis Pena | Submission (guillotine choke) 2:53 Rd 3

Talk about taking the judges out of the equation. Khama Worthy finished his tight three-round war with Luis Pena at the death, marking a seventh-straight win and his second in the UFC. A modified guillotine choke did the job against a worthy, educated grappler in Pena as he looked to chain his takedown attempts in Round 3.

The result was up in the air at that point, with Worthy arguably taking out Round 1, and Pena dominating Round 2. Worthy’s beautiful counter striking, punishing body kicks, and lingering right hand got him going early, but Pena reigned it back with a dominant five minutes of grappling in the second. Multiple submission attempts were survived by Worthy, and a question of cardio would arise in the deciding third round.

Worthy was up to the task though, getting that right hand to land once again and stuffing most of Pena’s entries before shrewdly taking advantage of his opponent’s position to lock up a tight choke.

Khama Note Worthy.

Tanner Boser def. Philipe Lins | KO (punches) 2:41 Rd 1

Tanner Boser put an exclamation mark on his return to the UFC winners list, viciously accounting for Philipe Lins in the first round. It was the Canadian’s ninth win via knockout and boy, was it mean.

Having initially impressed with his movement and accuracy on the feet, Boser landed his patented overhand right in a good spot to stun Lins. He pounced immediately to spell the end of the boutl; landing every shot in a quick and precise combination to send Lins to the mat, and following up with a brutal hammer fist for good measure.

It was the first KO of the night, and a belter at that. 

Kay Hansen def. Jinh Yu Frey | Submission (armbar) 2:26 Rd 3

The Ronda Rousey generation is here. 20-year-old Kay Hansen picked up a massive win in her maiden UFC bout, defeating fellow debutant and former Invicta atomweight champion, Jinh Yu Frey. It was only fitting that the win would come via armbar submission too, Rousey’s trademark move.

Frey, 15 years her opponent’s elder started the stronger of the two, able to lean on her experience and calmly pick off some nice counter left hooks as her fast hands got to work. She seemed to have answers in all departments until she was taken down and controlled in Round 2, with Hansen dominating from half guard.

The fight was up for grabs in the third, and Hansen kept her momentum rolling despite eating some more left hands for her trouble. While Frey repeatedly did well to remain upright from Hansen’s initial entries, the youngster’s chain grappling allowed her to spell the beginning of the end.

An improvised series of throw and trip attempts saw Hansen transition the move to an armbar position, rolling with Frey’s escapes and eventually being able to sit up with Frey on her back, and extend the arm to yield a tap. This was a big scalp on debut for the youngest female on the UFC roster, no doubt about it.

Youssef Zalal def. Jordan Griffin | Decision (unanimous) 29-28, 29-28, 29-28

Do judges score defence? That was somewhat a question which arose as Youssef Zalal got the unanimous nod over Jordan Griffin, pushing his record out to 9-2 with a third-consecutive victory.

The clear striking advantage belonged to Zalal, who picked off the better shots in the face of Griffin’s perennial forward movement and kickboxing combinations. The Moroccan was able to stuff nearly all of his opponent’s grappling advances, while looking the much fresher fighter in the late exchanges.

We had it: 29-28 Zalal – a close fight with two close rounds; we gave Griffin the first for his late takedown, but Zalal easily took the third and narrowly claimed Round 2.