Dan Hooker punished by UFC rival in first-round defeat

Kiwi Dan Hooker’s move to featherweight for his UFC fight against Englishman Arnold Allen in London on Sunday morning has ended in a first-round technical knockout defeat.

The fight was stopped with two and a half minutes remaining after Hooker, who had withstood an early barrage of heavy punches from Allen, was trapped against the side of the octagon after another brutal attack.

Hooker had moved from lightweight for his first fight at featherweight since 2016 and had a reach and height advantage against his higher-ranked opponent at the O2 Arena, but was lacking defensively and was simply too easy to hit.

The man known as the Hangman is usually a good judge of distance, but Allen quickly found his range and made Hooker pay with precise and unrelenting strikes.

The Aucklander, blood streaming from his nose, did well to withstand the early punishment, and made some good strikes of his own in a wild exchange, but Allen was in control and merely gathering himself for what ended up being his decisive attack, which included a high kick to Hooker’s head.

It was Allen's biggest career victory. He moves to 18-1, while Hooker goes to 21-12.