Dan Hooker had a lot to prove heading into UFC 281. Hooker’s career never really recovered from his ‘stand and bang approach’ he implemented in 2020.
Lack of striking discipline led to Hooker losing 4 out of 6 bouts in the last two years.
Dan Hooker returned to the lightweight division and surprised MMA fans after he defeated lightweight prospect Claudio Puelles, who was on a 5 win streak.
Meanwhile, Hooker had two consecutive losses before entering the octagon. Hooker and Puelles opened the UFC 281 main card on November 12.
Hooker put on an incredible performance and won via technical knockout in the second round.
With this victory, ‘The Hangman’ bounced back from two consecutive losses with the latest one being in the featherweight division.
His knockout was sure a big victory, but it brought deep misery to one Puelles fan.
One fan bet a whopping $79,255 on Puelles to beat Hooker. According to the betting house, if Puelles had won, he would’ve gotten $197,344.
During an interview with Submission Radio, Dan Hooker talked about learning about the bet:
“Shame! They bet on Claudio! I hope, I hope that that bloke mortgaged his house. I hope that bloke, you know, financed all of his – I hope he’s lost everything! That’s what you get!” Hooker said.
Hooker also mentioned popular singer Drake, who is known for betting a large amount of money on UFC matches. Hooker doesn’t believe the bets really come from him.
“That’s like when Drake keeps posting up and he’s like, ‘I put 15 million dollars on Paddy Pimblett.’ And you’re like, ‘Did he really?! Did he really?’ You know what I mean? I’m not sure, I don’t potentially believe it.” Hooker said.
After earning a victory at UFC 281, Hooker now has his eyes locked on UFC 284 which will be held in February next year. The event will be held in Australia which is close to his home country of New Zealand.