There are plenty of reasons to be excited about the upcoming scrap between Dustin Poirier and Dan Hooker. But, if you’re hoping for a repeat of Hooker’s epic battle with Paul Felder, it sounds like “The Hangman” isn’t on the same page with you.

Hooker believes Felder’s chin beats Poirier’s

The lightweight contenders are booked to fight on June 27th, in the headliner of the UFC’s Las Vegas event. Since both men are aggressive and dangerous fighters, the fight has a lot of buzz.

Poirier will be competing for the first time since he was submitted by the current champ, Khabib Nurmagomedov in September. Hooker, meanwhile, is coming off a thrilling war with Felder, which he won via split decision.

Recently Hooker spoke with MMA Fighting, however, and the surging fighter had this to say about Poirier. 

“He does tend to strike but also he does mix things up pretty well,” Hooker said. “Presses it against the cage, looks to wrestle. I doubt his No. 1 plan is ‘I’m going to go out there and I’m going to strike with Dan Hooker’ cause I don’t think that would be a great night for him.

“He’s an incredible boxer, an incredible wrestler and I’m expecting him to mix those two aspects of his game together in that way.”

And while talking about Poirier’s toughness and chin specifically, Hooker said this.

“That’s the thing — he’s definitely going to have to adjust his game a little bit,” Hooker said about Poirier. “I feel like pressuring me, taking a shot, giving it, taking a shot, giving a shot is just not the way to best approach it.

I don’t feel like Dustin can take a shot as well as Paul Felder can. From watching the tape of both of those fighters, I don’t think Poirier has the chin Felder does.

“I feel I can put Dustin away. If I keep touching him, there’s no way that Dustin’s going to be able to eat those shots and be able to recover from the damage I’m generally able to inflict on opponents.”

Does Hooker have a point?

It’s an interesting theory, and if you look at their records, Felder has only been stopped once. But, that was due to a doctor’s stoppage, when he fought Francisco Trinaldo in 2016.

Poirier, meanwhile, has been taken out by strikes in two different fights. Once against Conor McGregor in 2014, and in 2016 against Michael Johnson. 

Does this mean his chin isn’t the same as Felder’s? It’s possible. But, it’s also possible that if Poirier does mix in his wrestling, he’ll be harder to hit on June 27th.

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