Chael Sonnen says round two of Dustin Poirier vs. Dan Hooker was the greatest five minutes in MMA history

MMA legend Chael Sonnen says that round two of Dustin Poirier vs. Dan Hooker was the greatest five minutes of action in MMA history.

Poirier and Hooker put on a “Fight of the Year” candidate at UFC on ESPN 12 this past Saturday night. For 25 minutes both men went back-and-forth, throwing everything including the kitchen sink against each other for five rounds of non-stop action. The second round, in particular, was full of excitement as both men traded heavy blows against each other, with both fighters’ chins somehow holding up for the entire round of fighting.

The second round was so good that Sonnen is now saying it was the greatest five minutes of action we’ve ever seen in mixed martial arts. Check out what Sonnen said on his podcast.

“Where do we begin to break down Hooker vs. Poirier? Look, this thing took some twists and some turns. Guys, (Marvin) Hagler and (Thomas) Hearns fought for the first time in 1985. You have to go back to 1985 to find a round in combat as good as Hooker vs. Poirier round two. Greatest round I’ve ever witnessed,” Sonnen said.

“155lbs, right now, is not only the toughest division in the organization of the UFC, but it’s the toughest division in the history of the sport of mixed martial arts.”

That’s some high praise from Sonnen, who himself is no stranger to putting on great mixed martial arts fights Back in 2010, Sonnen and long-time rival Anderson Silva had one of the best fights of the decade at UFC 117, with Silva finding the submission late in the fifth round. So Sonnen is certainly no stranger to putting on fun fights for the fans, though of course, his classic with Silva was more grappling-heavy than Poirier vs Hooker, which was a standup war more in the vein of something like Dan Henderson vs. Shogun Rua 1.

Poirier vs. Hooker was something special, though. Rarely do we see two men go the full 25 minutes with reckless abandon and no concern for their well being or career longevity. At UFC on ESPN 12, we witnessed an incredible matchup between two lightweights at the top of their game, and we will go back and look at this fight down the road and consider it one of the best fights we’ve ever seen.

Do you agree with Chael Sonnen that the second round of Dustin Poirier vs. Dan Hooker was the greatest five minutes in MMA history?