Edson Barboza threw everything but the kitchen sink at Dan Hooker tonight at UFC On FOX 31 and appeared to have him badly hurt multiple times, yet it wasn’t until mid-way through the final round that he finally found the KO finish with a body shot.
Round One:
Hard body kick to start from Hooker and then a leg kick, but Barboza responds with a powerful kick of his own.
Both men trading kicks early in the fight. Another exchange of leg kicks. Another body kick for Hooker and then a leg kick, with Barboza going for a low one.
Another body kick for Hooker and a short flurry of punches from Barboza. Barboza’s leg kicks look a little harder here, but Hooker is keeping up a good work rate.
More leg kicks traded. Body kick and a straight behind it. hooker fakes a takedown and Barboza just misses with a counter kick. Hard body kick from Barboza now.
Punch for Hooker and then back to the body kick. Overhand right connects for Barboza. Clipping leg hand for Hooker. Powerful leg kicks for Barboza.
Back to the body kick for Hooker. Sneaks out with the jab. Barboza misses with a series of punches but then lands a blistering leg kick.
Good left hand connects for Hooker. Barboza with an inside leg kick. Crushing right hand from Barboza rocks Hooker. Now a head kick attempt.
Leg kick for Barboza. Right hand for Hooker and then tries for a knee. Hooker clinches and lands another knee. However Barboza then returns the favor by going for his own clinch and banging a knee upstairs. Hooker eats it but that hurts.
Hooker still trying to come forward regardless. However in the final second of the round Hooker lands a final leg kick that seems to slightly buckle his limb.
Round Two:
Body kick for Hooker and then punches, but Barboza goes to the leg kick. Barboza lands another leg kick and Hooker’s leg is giving way here. He connects with another and Hooker staggers.
However then Barboza starts slugging it out with punches. he’s trying to threaten with the knee too. Hooker landing a few solid punches here. Strange change in tactics from Barboza, opting to trade punches when Hooker was in serious trouble with the leg kicks.
All of a sudden Barboza is starting to look tired and Hooker’s confidence is rising. Hooker goes for a takedown and manages to get him down.
Hooker not doing to much with it however and eventually they go back to their feet.
Back to slugging it out on the feeet they go and Barboza is completely picking apart Hooker now with punches to the body and head. A couple of times Hooker takes enormous punches and somehow stays standing. He’s just trying to use sheer willpower to break Barboza here, but it’s only his chin that’s keeping him in this fight right now.
Barboza shoves Hooker and he falls over. He gets back up. Barboza landing some crushing body kicks. A big right hook lands and Hooker looks for a moment like he’s going to fall over, but then catches himself. He’s still walking forward but his own offense is lacking any snap behind it even though he’s occasionlly landing. Barboza’s tiring too, but he’s still got some venom in his blows and it’s remarkable he hasn’t secured a stoppage victory yet as the round ends.
Round Three:
Leg kick for Barboza and then a right hook. Jabs now snapping Hooker’s head back. Uppercut and another punch behind it for Hooker without too much behind it.
Hooker in on a single leg attempt. He moves Barboza over to the cage. They break apart. Spinning back kick to the body from Barboza folds Hooker up, but he still stays up somehow.
Barboza lands repeated strikes to the body. This is getting brutal to watch. Hooker is taking a hell of a beating here, absorbing obscene amounts of damage.
Barboza just missing with a wheel kick to the head. Another spinning back kick to the body. Hooker keeps stopping momentarily and then moving forward again. It’s an incredible display of mind over matter, but the referee should be waving this off.
Barboza lands a knee to the body and then another spinning back kick. Hooker grimaces in pain, but won’t go down. How much punishment can one man take?
We soon find out as Barboza lands a well placed punch to the liver and Hooker finally collapses to the canvas and the fight is waved off, handing Barboza a KO victory at 2.19mins of the third round.
Impressive stuff from Barboza, but really it would have been better for Hooker’s sake for that fight to have been called off earlier.
