Dan Hooker called it “just a scratch”.
It turned out to be much more than that though, with the Kiwi suffering a suspected broken arm in his split decision win over Jalin Turner at UFC 290.
Hooker had been asked by commentator Joe Rogan post-fight if he had broken his arm during the bout, not that the 33-year-old showed any signs of discomfort in the victory.
“It’s just a scratch. We’ll have to see,” Hooker replied.
Hooker did not attend his post-fight press conference to provide an update, instead being transported to a local hospital, but he did share his X-ray on social media showing a clearly broken bone.
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Hooker said earlier in the week on Submission Radio that he was “offended” by his manager offering him a fight with Tony Ferguson.
The Kiwi was widely ridiculed for that statement. After all, he was coming into Sunday’s fight with Turner having lost four of his past six fights.
Four of those losses came against Arnold Allen, Islam Makhachev, Michael Chandler, and Dustin Poirier though.
Turner, however, having won five of his last six fights was considered to be yet another stiff challenge for Hooker and one that would likely end in disappointment again for the Kiwi.
Instead, Hooker silenced his critics with a split decision win and sent Alexander Volkanovski wild before the Australian claimed his own victory at UFC 290.
With Turner and Hooker boasting 22 first-round finishes between them, another early ending would have hardly been a surprise in a card that had delivered statement knockouts and submissions.
The lightweight rivals though took it to a second round after an action-packed opening to the fight, with Hooker settling in nicely after Turner had the better, more crisp shots early.
An official timeout was called soon after the action got underway following a low blow from Hooker, with the referee warning the Kiwi after the illegal move.
When things got back underway it was Turner finding plenty of success timing his counters to Hooker’s leg kicks, with the front kick to the body proving particularly effective.
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Turner was also landing plenty with his hands, including a strong hook up the top after a high kick from Hooker left the Kiwi vulnerable.
Hooker, to his credit, recovered well and ended the opening round with a strong left hand but Turner definitely had the stronger moment of the two in the second — at least at first.
It came halfway through the round as Turner landed a stunning high kick and backed Hooker up the cage with a series of brutal shots.
It was a wonder that Hooker was still up on his feet after the initial kick though.
“How is Dan Hooker still standing up,” Daniel Cormier said in commentary.
Hooker wasn’t just standing though. He finished the round in a flurry and even looked set to get the submission, with Turner only saved by the bell.
The Kiwi landed a big right hand that had Turner bouncing off the cage and the American was then swarmed on, with Hooker landing a series of shots to turn the fight on its head.
Clearly exhausted by surviving the earlier exchange, Hooker just couldn’t land enough to score the TKO and instead went for the submission as he locked Turner in a rear-naked choke.
It was tight too, with Turner only surviving by a matter of seconds.
“It was over,” Cormier said.
“He had it,” added Rogan.
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Turner looked like he was still trying to recover from that late flurry as the third round opened, with Hooker later dropping him with a big right hand.
Once again it looked like Hooker was potentially on the verge of a finish but Turner was able to get back to his feet eventually, albeit with around 20 seconds left on the clock.
While Hooker was unable to get the finish he had done enough in those latter two rounds to secure a much-needed win and halt his losing skid.
“He’s a tough kid,” Hooker said of Turner after the win.
“I wanted [my blonde hair] pink from the fight and I got it. He’s a tough kid. He’s got a big future. I respect him a lot. I’m just so appreciative of everyone’s support and everyone that stuck by me and knew I’d come through the other side.”