Fresh off all sorts of Aotearoa bullkaka and not to mention two losses, Dan Hooker bounced back in tremendous fashion to defeat Nasrat Haqparast. Alongside Hooker in Las Vegas were City Kickboxing kaumatua Eugene Bareman and CKB wrestling guru Frank Hickman, as well as Alex Volkanovski's head coach Joe Lopez. This coaching trio was then present to support Volkanovski in his fight vs Brian Ortega and as Bareman made the trip from Aotearoa, Lopes came from Australia and Hickman is based in USA; the minor miracles of CKB success despite rarely having the full crew of coaches in their corner continues.

That comparison is notable here as both Hooker and Volkanovski showed grappling skills that the world has overlooked. Team CKB is always learning, always growing. Hooker's smooth transition to takedowns and Volkanovski's slick escapes from Ortega's realm showcased grappling in attack and defence. Standing up striking, we always expect Team CKB to shine and both these lads were in typical striking form.

Hooker controlled his fight from the start, taking up centre position in the octagon and keeping Haqparast circling on the outside. 10/13 kicks landed in the first round was the most of the three rounds for Hooker and he started the fight landing from distance, hitting Haqparast with kicks from his right leg. Then Hooker found a zone where he could steadily land a straight right after hanging a left jab out, as well as embracing the clinch to set up knees.

Then came the next wrinkle of takedowns sparked from a counter movement to Haqparast's flurry. Hooker had 36 seconds of control time in the first round, then 2:57mins and 3:31mins in the next two rounds as he'd lower his level to escape a punch and efficiently snare a takedown. Hooker landed 30 strikes in round tahi to Haqparast's 7 strikes and as Hooker then dictated the next two rounds on the mat, Hooker sealed a comprehensive win.

The Team CKB recipe has been world-class striking with sufficient grappling defence - to counter both wrestlers and jiu-jitsu wizards such as Ortega. Hooker showed how varied a CKB fighter can be though and this is evident in the range of strikes coming from Hooker (punches, elbows, knees, kicks from distance and in the clinch) as well as the takedown threat.

Haqparast wasn't a contender in the lightweight division, but as he said in the post-fight presser this was a case of Hooker needing a fight and him working with the UFC to get a fight. Hooker was willing to drop down in status from main event to prelims and Hooker was polished in showcasing a range of skills to snare the win, thus keeping him among the toughest buggers in the lightweight division.

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