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00:00To be sure the Perth crowd firmly will be in the Kiwis corner as he draws the vaunted Polish contender Matausz Gamrot, a man who is on the cusp.
00:13When I signed contract with UFC, my dream was fight the best guy in the world.
00:19I am only like three years in UFC, still young, still hungry.
00:23Look out for the hard-charging Matausz Gamrot, who is another fighter that's putting Polish MMA on the map.
00:31Yeah, this guy's very dangerous. Good striker on the feet, but let's be honest, it's his takedowns and his control on the mat with his submission skills to back it up that makes Gamrot so dangerous.
00:41Everybody think I have only wrestling, but this fight I prove that I am mixed martial arts fighter.
00:47This man smothers people. His cardio is off the charts, his aggression is off the charts, and he has all the look of a top contender and a man who will one day challenge for the title.
01:06Oh, I just love to fight, bro. That's just what I am.
01:10Fight is easy for me. There's nothing in the world that makes more sense to me than him fighting.
01:14He made his UFC debut back in 2014 in his native Auckland, New Zealand.
01:19He went down to the wire, won the very best in the world at 155 pounds.
01:25I feel like I'm just a complete fighter now. I think I'm fully developed as a fighter, and it's taken 10 years to get to this point, but I feel like I've reached that now.
01:34I can knock you out with any weapon I damn well choose.
01:38Right kick, left kick. Oh, there it is again. That might do it. That'll do it.
01:42Right knee, right hand, left hand. Oh, attacked him with the left. Gilbert's in big trouble.
01:48The hangman does it again.
01:50I'll put people down with damn near anything.
01:53Oh, there it is.
01:55When I saw the name, Gamro's name, slide across the desk, it's an easy one because it's just super straightforward.
02:01You know, it's obvious he wants to drag me to the mat, and I want to keep the fight on the feet.
02:05In terms of mixed martial arts, the tale is as old as time, striker versus wrestler.
02:09Of course, I am a wrestler. Wrestling is my DNA, but my style is a nightmare for him.
02:15So this fight, I will accelerate every minute. Every minute is going to be more intense.
02:25I'm going to Australia, ruin the show, and I will not finish him.
02:29It doesn't really matter. It's his problem to figure it out.
02:33He slips up one time, he's going to wake up with half his PC.
02:38I'm going to Australia, ruin the show, and I will not finish him.
02:41Well, they don't come a whole lot more beloved in this part of the world
03:06than the Auckland, New Zealand native and 11th ranked UFC lightweight contender, Dan the Hangman Hooker.
03:1210-4 DC at 155 pounds. This is a man who plied his trade for a while as a featherweight contender.
03:19He's competed in MMA as high as heavyweight, but he's the consummate fighter's fighter.
03:24And he told us in our fighter meeting and in that feature, he feels like he really didn't get good
03:28until about a year ago. He's won two in a row coming in tonight.
03:31Yeah, and you know, for Dan Hooker, it's about getting better
03:34when a lot of people thought it was over. Like, honestly, a few fights ago,
03:38I was like, man, it might be time for Dan Hooker to walk away,
03:41but he is showing a better form every single time he steps into the octagon.
03:45And when you look at him, he looks completely different.
03:47He's got tattoos now, he's got blonde hair.
03:49He said he unlocked customization in the video game.
03:52When you look at the guy, he looks amazing, but he looks in great shape.
03:55He's ready to go. Another one of those city kickboxing guys
03:58who spoke so much about recovery and just being better prepared as they got to the octagon.
04:03He said he wants to maintain his range because he can see the fight going a lot of different ways.
04:07You know, I think the biggest gift for Hooker is his comfort at this point.
04:11He's just comfortable here. He's comfortable in these lights.
04:14And he shows up as one of the better guys in this division.
04:16What makes him good is the way that he finds his range.
04:19I think that Gamrot's mixture of high, low, mixing the wrestling to the punches
04:23and then back to the wrestling and then the jiu-jitsu,
04:26that's going to be something for him to deal with. But Hooker's confident.
04:28As long as I create that range, when Gamrot goes to wrestle me,
04:31I'll get out of the scrambles and I will tire him out.
04:34And that's when I'll land the finishing blow.
04:47A man who has no problem coming into enemy territory and spoiling parties.
04:52Enter the number five ranks. UFC lightweight contender Mataj Gamrot
04:56realized a lot of success, of course, before he got to the UFC.
04:59He's a former two-division KSW champion.
05:02And in this division, to have won as many fights as he has without a title shot
05:07just speaks to the depth. But he's on the come up and maybe one win away.
05:11We asked him, what happens if you have a hard time taking down Hooker?
05:15He said, excuse me? Who am I not taking down?
05:18Are you kidding me, DC? Me not take somebody down?
05:21He was so confident, 100% positive he will out-wrestle Hooker
05:26and continue to out-wrestle him and out-grapple him.
05:29Hooker has no chance to get away or get on his feet.
05:32And if you watch Gamrot, I get it. His scrambling ability, his wrestling
05:36and his mixture of jiu-jitsu and wrestling together
05:39is something that I watch all the time to learn from.
05:42He's extremely fun to watch. He never stops the action.
05:45And the main thing that doesn't happen is he never gets tired.
05:48I asked Gamrot, how did you get somebody in the top five to fight him?
05:51Because it's hard to break into that when you're as good as he is.
05:54He said it's the way that he wins his fights.
05:56He talked a little bit about Saruki and knocking out Daniel Darius.
06:00That's how you get your opportunity.
06:02He has to be impressive tonight over Hooker.
06:04Then he thinks he'll find his way into a top five fight.
06:07He believes that he's the best match-up for the champion.
06:10Let's see how he does tonight.
06:13All right, with that backdrop, tail the tape is brought to you
06:16by VeChain, the official blockchain of UFC.
06:20Matauj Gamrot, the minus 4'10'' betting favorite at close.
06:2533 years of age. Dan Hooker is 34.
06:28Two inches the gap in height.
06:30A couple of professionals on the scale here Saturday morning.
06:32Dan Hooker will try to maximize what is a four and a half inch advantage in reach.
06:36All right, now for the intros, back inside of the veteran voice, Bruce Spock.
06:40Ladies and gentlemen, this fight is three rounds in the UFC lightweight division.
06:47Introducing first, fighting out of the blue corner, a big martial artist
06:52holding a professional record.
06:5423 wins, 12 losses.
06:56He stands six feet tall, weighing in at 155 and one half pounds.
07:02Fighting out of Auckland, New Zealand.
07:06Dan, the hangman, Hooker!
07:14And now, introducing his opponent, fighting out of the red corner,
07:20a big martial artist holding a professional record.
07:2324 wins, two losses, one no contest.
07:26He stands five feet ten inches tall, weighing in at 156 pounds.
07:32Fighting out of Poland, Poland.
07:36Presenting the number five ranked UFC lightweight contender in the world,
07:41Muchos Gamera!
07:50And when the action begins, our referee in charge, Jim Perdidos.
07:57Thank you, Brooklyn Wren.
08:05Featured bout live on pay-per-view.
08:07I know I speak for most of the fan base when I say we have just been jonesing
08:12to see them lock the door behind these two gentlemen.
08:15That is Dan Hooker in black, Mataj Gamra in white.
08:18Here we go, folks.
08:21We'll see if Gamra shoots early.
08:24We'll see the extent to which Hooker can find a home for some of his long-range weapons.
08:29One of the ways to keep a guy off of wrestling is to make him move backwards.
08:33It's hard to back up and then shoot.
08:34Gamra needs to be trying to go forward to set up his takedowns.
08:38Hooker told us in the fighter meeting he hasn't switched stances much in fight,
08:43seeing a lot of footwork early out of Dan.
08:46To think that Dan Hooker fought 145 is crazy.
08:50He looks big at 155.
08:53Yeah.
08:55Well, we've been banging the drum when it comes to this revamped city kickboxing
08:59strength and conditioning program, but I'm talking to Kai Kadiforan, Stan Hooker, and Izzy.
09:03All of them just were glowing in terms of what Eugene Behrman has helped them do.
09:08The coaches, of course, on the SEC side, aligning with Olympic minds in New Zealand.
09:13They all look fantastic.
09:15Olympic minds was responsible for the strength and conditioning of the Australian Olympic team.
09:20Just ended in Paris.
09:22Oh!
09:24Nice entry by Gamra.
09:33Nice right hand.
09:35He's already clipped Hooker a little bit.
09:38Yep, that right hand.
09:40A little mouse and now a cut, actually, to the left of Dan Hooker's left eye already.
09:46Gamra likes to time that shot with his head on the outside of the hip.
09:51Good body kick by Hooker a moment ago. Gamra attacks low.
09:55One of the things about Gamra is he's been pretty one-dimensional.
09:59He's finding his range now with the strikes.
10:02That opens up that.
10:04That's the head on the outside signal he likes.
10:06If you can land punches, then when you level change, they aren't expecting it as much.
10:10It's got to be very frustrating for Dan Hooker.
10:13Now, notice this left leg, or right leg of Dan Hooker.
10:16Watch how Gamra tries to keep it elevated on his hip.
10:19That's so important when trying to stack a guy from doing this, getting back to their feet.
10:24When I watch Gamra, the gift he has is keeping you down.
10:26After he takes you down, you can't get up.
10:29Look at Hooker's right leg. Every time Hooker tries to get to the fence,
10:32he just attacks the right leg and gets it up to try to walk him away from it.
10:35It's amazing that he does that to all these guys.
10:39So each way that you'll see Hooker lean to, that's the leg he lifts.
10:43And it's controlling the bottom leg at all times.
10:49Back to the sound of the Octagon as we cross the midpoint of round one.
10:52This is where Hooker said, I will win.
10:54I'll get up, I'll escape, and then he's going to be tired from the wrestling,
10:57and that's when I'm going to land the heavy shot I need to make.
11:00Oh, he hurt him.
11:03Another right hand, and now he a team.
11:06Gamra dropping for a submission here, Hooker wise to it.
11:11Furious start for Poland's Gamra.
11:14Oh my goodness.
11:16He's very busy, always on top too.
11:19Aggressive tonight.
11:21Always.
11:22Oh my goodness.
11:26Felt like he was pretty aggressive in our fighter meeting too,
11:29just in terms of the overall confidence in the matchup,
11:32his ability to impose his will upon Dan,
11:35and what a start for Gamra.
11:37Well, one of my favorite fights of all time
11:39was watching Karrueche Young and Gamra fight.
11:42This is an amazing fight between two young guys
11:45who you knew would be very valuable in this weight class.
11:52Gamra coming in tonight with three straight wins.
11:55Jalen Turner, Rafael Fazeeb, and Rafael Dos Anjos.
11:58Back-to-back wins for Hooker coming in.
12:03Hooker's no stranger to early damage and coming back either.
12:07Remember he broke his arm?
12:09Was that the last fight or two fights ago?
12:11Yep.
12:13He's one of the toughest guys in the sport.
12:15Oh! Big left hook for Dan Hooker now!
12:18Gamra's hurt.
12:20Gamra hurt under a minute to go round one.
12:22Oh!
12:24Another left hand now away from Hooker!
12:26The RAC arena waiting to explode!
12:31Hooker's got very underrated power and he's confident in it.
12:34He knows if I connect, he'll go down.
12:36He's hurt Gamra bad.
12:38He hurt Gamra bad with that left hook.
12:41I'm not sure the extent to which Gamra has recovered!
12:45Gamra now in on a single.
12:49Hooker should not be throwing punches there.
12:52He should have been trying to get out of that position.
12:58Gamra's gathering himself right now.
13:00Oh my goodness!
13:02Hooker's on him, he knows it.
13:04Keep him on his heels and it's hard for Gamra to shoot
13:06when he's on his heels like this.
13:08Man, Dan Hooker is a savage.
13:10No doubt, big mouse and now cut under the right eye of Hooker.
13:13What a round!
13:15Awesome.
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13:26Deep breath.
13:39I think so, yes.
13:50Cross, cross.
13:54Very basic.
13:56Just go low, go low.
13:58Mix that up with coming high.
14:00This is where you try, brother.
14:02Right here you see Gamra with a beautiful right hand.
14:06Knocks Hooker down.
14:08Hurts him.
14:10Gamra pounces on him.
14:12But now Dan Hooker towards the end of the round.
14:14Look at that left hook.
14:16That left hook hurt Gamra really bad.
14:18This is a tale of two rounds, man.
14:20The unauthorized reproduction
14:22or distribution of this copyright work
14:24is illegal and punishable under law.
14:26So that Big Dan Hooker connection on the ear,
14:28momentarily stumbled.
14:30Mataus Gamra, but you see all the damage
14:32he doled out on the feet as well.
14:34A lot of scar tissue, I would think,
14:36for Hooker, though, too.
14:38Yeah.
14:40Well, he's in these types of fights constantly.
14:42Body kick for the hangman.
14:44He's looking great.
14:46Hooker is looking great.
14:48He stayed in this fight.
14:50He found a way to get inside on the legs
14:52the way he wants to.
14:54He's stuck on the outside range.
14:56There's a nice shot.
14:58He waits for the kick and then connects off that.
15:00You got to do that because if you just try to shoot
15:02on Hooker, he's able to defend.
15:04He waited for the kick and followed that in.
15:06Great read by Gamra.
15:08Gamra, three for six
15:10on his takedown attempts thus far.
15:12I mean, look at his grappling,
15:14the way he passes the guard like butter that way.
15:16He's not fully passing.
15:18Don't look at him.
15:20Get on the bottom.
15:22Keeping him pinned.
15:24He's got that head and arm.
15:26Looking to keep Hooker here as long as he can.
15:28Side control is a hard position in MMA today
15:30because you're not controlling their legs.
15:32Now you see Gamra getting his hand
15:34to try to control the hips of Dan Hooker.