Pros react to UFC 243 co-main event between Al Iaquinta and Dan Hooker

Tonight at UFC 243 at the Marvel Stadium in Australia, Al Iaquinta faced Dan Hooker in the co-main event.

Al ‘Raging’ Iaquinta entered the Octagon against Dan Hooker and looked to recover from his last fight: a unanimous decision loss to Donald Cerrone. The perennial division contenders faced off in the main event of UFC Ottowa. Iaquinta absorbed some early shots and couldn’t adapt his fighting enough to sway the decision victory. Nevertheless, his performance against Cerrone demonstrated his reliance which also made him a tough adversary for Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223. ‘Raging’ Al proved his stock in the lightweight division during his successful wins against Kevin Lee (twice), Ryan Couture and Diego Sanchez.

Dan Hooker is a New-Zealand fighter whose strengths lie in kickboxing and jiu-jitsu. Aside from his 2018 loss against Edson Barboza, ‘The Hangman’ has won five (out of six) recent fights; three of those by first-round KO. During his last fight, Hooker slammed his respected opponent, James Vick, with a left hook that sealed the first-round KO victory. He entered tonight’s fight ranked No 15, and intended on proving to fans that he has what it takes to beat a top 10 ranked contender.

The American and New Zealander went at it for a full fifteen minutes at UFC 243, but after three rounds of action it was clear that Dan Hooker had done enough to get the nod from the judges in attendance.

Hooker battered Iaquinta with low kicks and jabs throughout the three round fight, and even dropped the Long Island native with a right hand.

Check out how the pros reacted to Dan Hooker’s impressive performance at UFC 243 below:

Dan Hooker with a phenomenal performance. He wins via UD over AL Iaquinta.

Afterwards, Hooker calls out Dustin Poirier. "Dustin Poirier, I'm going to smash your face in. Meet me in New Zealand, 2020, and I'm going to end you!"

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) October 6, 2019

Have it 30-27 for Hooker

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) October 6, 2019

Whaaaaaatttttt? He wants Dustin! I dig that fight let’s do it. Hooker vs Poirier 2020. #UFC243

— Tatiana Suarez (@tatianaufc) October 6, 2019

Great performance by @danthehangman and so much respect for @IAQUINTAREALTY true warrior!

— michael (@bisping) October 6, 2019

Al tough as fuck

— Sean O'Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) October 6, 2019

https://twitter.com/ElvisSinosic/status/1180694779270594560

Who would you like to see Dan Hooker fight next following his victory over Al Iaquinta at tonight’s UFC 243 event? Sound off in the comments section PENN Nation!