"Kicks were exchanged early and often between Tsarukyan and Hooker, who had featured in a tense weigh-off scene underscored by a headbutt by Tsarukyan during the final face-off. Just past a minute in, Arman clinched up, putting Hooker on the fence and looking for a way to take the taller man down. Hooker would escape, but ate a nasty knee to the head on exit. The New Zealand native then fanned on a head kick. Tsarukyan, meanwhile, was showing solid accuracy with his hands."
"Near the midway mark, Hooker jumped a guillotine, but didn't have it and wound up with Tsarukyan on top, in side control. In the final seconds of the round, still on top, Tsarukyan would sneak in some ground n' pound, while sandpapering Hooker with his elbow. Hooker was showing some swelling around one eye after the opening round, likely from the knee he ate midway through round one."
"This time, there was nearly four minutes on the clock. Tsarukyan had all the time in the world to work, and managed to mix in some heavy ground n' pound, punches and elbows, while posturing up. Hooker covered up, and survived the initial barrage. Moving into half-guard came next for Tsarukyan, with mount tantalizingly close at hand. Instead, Arman locked up an arm-triangle choke, which, after a slight adjustment, was in tight, forcing Hooker to tap!"
Arman Tsarukyan returned to action at UFC Qatar after withdrawing from a January title fight due to a back injury and serving as a backup at UFC 317. Tsarukyan faced Dan Hooker in the main event, where kicks were exchanged early and a tense weigh-off included a headbutt by Tsarukyan. Tsarukyan secured top position multiple times after Hooker attempted guillotines, landed knees and accurate punches, and employed an alligator-roll to take control. Tsarukyan mixed heavy ground-and-pound, postured to strike, transitioned toward mount and ultimately locked an arm-triangle choke, forcing Hooker to tap. Tsarukyan was already ranked #1 at 155 pounds.
Read at Cageside Press
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