UFC on ESPN 12 Results: Fight of the year candidate, Mike Perry surprises fans with performance and more (27th June, 2020)

#1. Dustin Poirier vs Dan Hooker

THANK YOU @DustinPoirier! THANK YOU @danthehangman! 🙌 #UFCVegas4 pic.twitter.com/QjMrs8PAcF

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) June 28, 2020

Round 1: The two elite Lightweights touched gloves to start things off. They traded heavy kicks to the body quite early. Dan Hooker landed a left hand on Dustin Poirier. The Diamond caught Hooker's leg, but it was the Kiwi #5 contender who kept moving forward.

It appeared that Hooker caught him in the groin twice, but it was just a graze - nothing big enough to call for a halt. Hooker got a good connection up top and Poirier locked him with double underhooks and pressed him up against the fence.

Poirier landed a solid kick to the body and doubled-up on it. He then landed a great shot to the head but Hooker took his back immediately and pressed him up against the fence. Hooker somehow continued the pressure and mixed it up, finding success on the body. Poirier landed a couple of good shots himself and showed a lot of composure in adversity.

Poirier landed an overhand right to end the round.

Round 2: Poirier continued to land overhand rights and got a few clean ones. Hooker countered brilliantly with clean shots himself and Hooker defended a takedown attempt. Poirier adjusted in between to land a few punches. Poirier landed a few clean ones and Hooker seemed unphased, landing a few clean shots to the body.

It was hard to see who was finding more success at this point. Any time Hooker tried to move forward, Poirier moved forward himself with a punch. The former Interim Champion once again attempted a takedown but the Kiwi showed his excellent Takedown defense.

Both men began to bleed from the eye. Hooker landed a beautiful combination and Poirier was somehow on the feet despite looking wobbled. He clinched to get him some time. They started to trade. Poirier started absorbing damage and looked close to being finished but the buzzer saved him.

“I’m having a blast.”Us too, @DustinPoirier 👏 🍿 pic.twitter.com/9fHFmYq8R1

— The Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) June 28, 2020

Round 3: Poirier's punches seemed to lose the sting on them. Hooker looked fresher coming into the third round, but Poirier moved forward momentarily. Hooker landed a left hand and Poirier landed himself. Hooker's mouthguard fell off, stopping the fight for a second. The two seemed more exhausted and Poirier was in a guillotine position. It looked tight but Hooker escaped somehow.

The two got back up to their feet and exchanged again. The round ended with both men exhausted.

Round 4: Poirier landed a jab but was countered a second later. A jab from Poirier was met with a body kick from Hooker. The Kiwi landed the takedown but couldn't do much with it. Poirier got back to his feet but Hooker wasted no time to jump on his back and try to choke him out. Hooker got him down but Poirier twisted and did brilliantly to get back up.

Poirier finally got a takedown of his own and The Diamond controlled his hands to have a favorable ground-and-pound position. He mounted his back but he slid down and switched to an armbar position. Poirier began to take full control at the end of the round, seemingly securing round 4 for himself.

Round 5: The fifth round started with the two exhausted. Their movement slowed down. Poirier looked better coming off and landed a clean shot to Hooker. The Kiwi managed to land a late takedown and Poirier once again went for the guillotine.

Hooker went for another takedown but was denied. A big shot from Poirier saw him attempt a guillotine attempt and the final seconds saw Poirier in a favorable position, landing strikes from close range.

Result: