UFC 243 results: Dan Hooker punishes Al Iaquinta in lopsided decision, calls out Dustin Poirier

Dan Hooker made a huge statement at UFC 243 – first with his performance, and then his call out.

With a win over Al Iaquinta in the co-main event, Hooker showcased a dominant striking arsenal to punish his opponent round after round in arguably his biggest win since moving to 155 pounds. The scorecards were 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26 to award him the unanimous decision victory.

Afterwards, Hooker took to the microphone to call his shot.

“Dustin Poirier, I’m going to smash your face in,” Hooker said of the former interim lightweight champion. “Meet me in New Zealand 2020, and I’m going to end you!”

As for the fight on Saturday night, Hooker used a height and reach advantage to keep Iaquinta on the end of his punches, connecting with several stiff shots that rattled the New Yorker on his feet. Iaquinta altered his game plan and decided to look for a takedown, but that went against him as well after Hooker began unloading a series of nasty elbows to the head.

Hooker was able to scramble to take Iaquinta’s back, where he began looking for a rear naked choke. But he couldn’t quite lock up the submission, and Iaquinta was eventually able to slip free to get back to the feet. That didn’t help him much either, with Hooker again punishing him with leg kicks and accurate punches.

Despite his best efforts, Iaquinta just couldn’t find a way to get inside, and Hooker was happy to stay on the outside and tag him from there.

Midway through the round, Iaquinta abandoned a more technical boxing game and opted to throw a few overhand rights that started to catch Hooker off guard. While a few of those punches slipped through Hooker’s defense, Iaquinta couldn’t really build on it.

In return, Hooker was able to connect with a stiff right hook that dropped Iaquinta to the ground before following him to the mat in an attempt to get the finish. Iaquinta survived, but he was obviously down after spending 10 minutes in the Octagon with Hooker.

There was no playing it safe from Hooker as he continued to snipe Iaquinta from the outside, and he even managed a clubbing elbow in a brief moment where he allowed the former “Ultimate Fighter” contender to get too close.

The accuracy and distance striking were just more than Iaquinta could handle with Hooker staying calm and composed during nearly every exchange over three rounds. When the horn sounded, Hooker knew he had just earned a dominant win while taking out a legitimate top 10 ranked opponent.

Hooker is now 6-1 at lightweight in the UFC, and he’s targeting Poirier as his next opponent as he looks to continue his climb up the rankings at 155 pounds.