"I'm happy that the crowd booed him" - Michael Bisping criticizes Claudio Puelles for attempting the Imanari roll "over and over again" in his fight against Dan Hooker
Michael Bipsing has criticized Claudio Puelles for being too one dimensional in his fight against Dan Hooker at UFC 281.
Hooker returned to lightweight and stepped into the octagon to face the rising Puelles this past weekend. At the start of the fight, the 'Prince of Peru' regularly looked to catch Hooker off guard by trying to Imanari roll into a heel hook. Puelles was eventually successful and caught the New Zealander's heel. However, Hooker's experience paid dividence and he never looked in any real danger.
The second round began and it appeared Imanari rolling was the main gameplan from the 26-year-old. 'The Hangman' knew it was coming and dodged every subsequent attempt. Eventually, the 32-year-old found his opening and landed heavy body kicks that led to a second-round TKO.
Dan Hooker defeats Claudio Puelles with a second round TKO 🦶
#UFC281 https://t.co/tZT77WuOWi
In a video uploaded to BT Sport, Michael Bisping gave a breakdown of the fight. According to 'The Count', the bout highlighted the holes in Puelles' game:
"He's back in a win against a very one-dimensional fighter. Puelles needs to go away now and do some work. Dan Hooker was sensational. 'I'm not taking anything from the victory, but as we know, Puelles kept going for that Imanari roll ...He's good at that, but if you can't get it, you can't keep lying on the goddamn floor over and over again. I'm happy that the crowd booed him."
Catch the full UFC 281 breakdown here:
Dan Hooker's coach explains difference in attitude heading into UFC 281
Prior to UFC 281, Dan Hooker had lost four of his last five fights in the octagon. The torrid form wasn't a fair reflection of the talent the New Zealander possesses, as his coach Eugene Bareman explained.
In an interview on Submission Radio, Bareman revealed that when 'The Hangman' originally joined City Kickboxing, he never believed he was getting all of the 32-year-old's attention.
The award-winning coach stated that Dan Hooker was only giving "90%," which in the fight game, can be the difference between a win and a loss:
"He’s a very important part of our team, and he always has been. But maybe, what he’s alluding to, we just didn’t have his full buy-in. We didn’t have his full buy-in. He was 90% with the team, but it was that extra 10% where he was a rogue. He was a rogue, and he’d make decisions to take fights that I said he shouldn’t take."
Bareman added that UFC 281 was going to show a different side to Hooker, which as we now know, was certainly the case:
“I honestly think Dan’s ready to show you guys something special… Dan’s a special athlete, special person, and I feel like he’s a guy that needs a big occasion to rise, and it doesn’t get any bigger than UFC 281 in the middle of New York at MSG.”
Catch the interview here: