Sports Reporter | Capper
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The UFC heads back to Perth, Australia for an absolutely stacked UFC 305 PPV event that will have fight fans all around the world clambering over.
On the main card, we have a banger in the featured bout in the lightweight division as the hometown favorite Dan Hooker steps inside the Octagon to take on surging contender Mateusz Gamrot this weekend.
This fight should keep the fans on the edge of their seats, so let's take a look at the matchup and our Hooker-Gamrot prediction and pick.
Dan Hooker (23-12) hit a bit of a rough patch losing back-to-back fights against the elite of the lightweight and featherweight divisions Islam Makhachev and Arnold Allen. He was then able to get back on track with back-to-back dominant victories against Claudio Puelles and Jalin Turner.
Hooker has only lost to the elite in the lightweight division as his last three losses have all come against the top of the division in Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler, and Islam Makhachev.
Knowing that Gamrot is a grappler and will elect to take this fight to the mat as early and as much as possible, Hooker has a great chance in this fight to just stay safe on the canvas and work his way back to his feet where he is a massive advantage.
When it comes to the striking it's a no contest to where Hooker should have a field day against Gamrot. Gamrot certainly isn't a terrible striker by any stretch but he is no match in a striking affair against Hooker.
Mateusz Gamrot (24-2) could potentially be next in line for a title if he comes away victorious this weekend in hostile territory when he takes on Dan Hooker.
A win over Hooker will then make it four straight victories against ranked competitors which would make him a potential backup for the lightweight championship bout between Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan as well as the next title shot after these two are done battling it out.
While he may not be successful on 65% of his takedowns actively attempting as many takedowns as he does negates the offense coming at him on the other side. He knows how dangerous Hooker is on his feet so he is going to need to do what he does best and that is to avoid the big shots and take Hooker for a ride.
Gamrot will have some trouble controlling Hooker on the canvas but his ability to chain wrestle and keep that high pace throughout the fight will be troublesome for Hooker in this matchup.
As long as he can avoid extended periods of taking exchanging on the feet his style of grappling can be just enough to get the nod on the judge's scorecards.
This is a fantastic matchup between these two lightweight contenders. Hooker is going to want to push the pace and put a hurting on Gamrot meanwhile, Gamrot is going to want to take Hooker for a ride and control him for the vast majority of the fight to get the win.
Ultimately, this fight will certainly be dicey at spots for Gamrot especially as the fight goes longer, he still should be able to do enough with grappling to nullify anything coming his way from Hooker to get the nod on the judge's scorecards and his 4th win in a row.
FINAL HOOKER-GAMROT PICK & PREDICTION: MATEUSZ GAMROT BY POINTS (-135)
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