Dustin Poirier vs Dan Hooker Betting Predictions

The UFC APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada will once again be the host for your favorite MMA fights for UFC on ESPN12. The event is scheduled for June 27^th, 2020, with the main card starting at 8 PM ET and the prelims starting at 5 PM ET.

We have an exciting fight for the main event, in what many are saying has fight of the year potential already. With most of the bookies favoring Poirier find out why Hooker is worth a punt in our comprehensive Dustin Poirier vs Dan Hooker Betting Prediction for UFC on ESPN 12 that includes betting odds, betting history and betting prediction.

Dustin Poirier gets the nod among operators with 888sport, Fan Duel and Sugar House all tagging him as the favorite at -222, -220, and -225 respectively. Meanwhile among the same order of operators, Hooker is rated as the +180, +176, +180 underdog. In my opinion the odds are a lot farther than they deserved to be and Hooker might well be worth the punt. Find out more from this Dustin Poirier vs Dan Hooker Betting Prediction for UFC on ESPN 12.

This has fight of the night written all over it and some are saying this has the potential to be a contender for fight of the year. Stylistically these two fighters both love to stay on their feet and strike. Both fighters have flat out wars on their resumes so expect to see some fireworks.

“The Diamond” won 6 of his last 7 fights with his only loss coming in his last fight against Lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov last September. Something MMA fans will surely not fault him for. Hooker meanwhile is coming off a three-fight win streak with his latest a decision win in a 5 round slugfest against Paul Felder.

Poirier is a very good wrestler and can win fights on the ground. But recently his striking has improved to the point where he actually relies on his boxing to pressure his opponents. He averages 5.51 significant strikes per minute and has a very high standard of boxing skills. Hooker is a kickboxer, though not as refined and technical with his hands as Poirier, he possesses the one punch knockout power that his opponent lacks.

Poirier seems to be the consensus favorite, but I think this fight will be a lot closer than the odds suggest. Hooker has been getting better and better and it’s no wonder when you consider who he regularly trains with over in New Zealand; none other than Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya.

Hooker is also coming fresh off a win from his fight last February, while Poirier has been sitting on a submission loss since September of last year. This might play a factor as Poirier has historically been one of the more active fighters on the roster. The long break could be unwanted territory for him.

“The Hangman” also has a three-inch height and reach advantage over The Diamond and he utilizes distance control very well as we saw in the Felder fight and his fight against Gilbert Burns.

Another factor in my prediction is the fact that Hooker has repeatedly shown in his past fights that he can take a lot of damage.  His last loss was a stoppage but only after Edson Barboza peppered him with leg kicks, a weapon that Poirier does not have. Poirier has shown before that he can be rocked and even knocked out.

My prediction is an upset UD win for Dan Hooker. I think that he will do enough damage to Poirier early to outlast him in a slugfest.