Mateusz Gamrot vs. Dan Hooker: Preview, Where to Watch and Betting Odds

Polish lightweight Mateusz Gamrot is the massive favorite ahead of his main card draw with veteran New Zealander Dan Hooker at UFC 305 this weekend. The pair come into this bout on the back of recent wins, even though Hooker’s last fight was over a year ago. The fighters believe that the winner here will be better positioned for a title shot, as the top of the lightweight division will likely see some movement following the injury to champion Islam Makhachev.

MMA: UFC Lightweight

Where to Watch: ESPN+ PPV

Venue: RAC Arena, Perth, Australia

Date: 18.08.2024 06:00

The former multiple European wrestling champion is on a three-fight winning streak, earning decisions over Jalin Turner and Rafael dos Anjos and a TKO of Rafael Fizier. With two losses in twenty-seven MMA fights, Mateusz Gamrot is at the top of his game. Currently ranked at number five in the UFC lightweight division, the Southpaw, who fights out of Poznan, Poland, was a two-division champion at KSW before a 2020 debut in the UFC. Intriguingly, Mateusz Gamrot has won more bouts in MMA by knockout than by submission, but the American Top Team member holds the record for the fastest submission by Kimura in the UFC with a 65-second win over Jeremy Stephens. Gamrot believes a win here may throw up a tilt for the interim lightweight gold next for him.

• Age: 33
• Height: 5’10”
• Weight: 155lbs (70kg)
• Reach: 71”
• Record: 24-2-1 (NC)

I think I am the best wrestler in the lightweight division. Of course, Islam is super high-level, and he always shows high-level skill, but if I meet him in the cage, I think he can’t take me down, but I will… And then it’ll be a great scramble matchup for sure.

Mateusz Gamrot

The Auckland-born New Zealander has contested in kickboxing, Muay Thai, and grappling before making it to the UFC in 2014. Ten years after his debut, the 33-year-old Dan Hooker is still going strong and is number eleven in the lightweight rankings, with his sights set on the top half of the top ten rankings. A late addition to the card, Dan Hooker claims that his stunt on the Alexander Velkanovski show on Fox Sports - where he claimed he had an upcoming fight against Charles Oliveira - was what landed him the UFC 305 berth.

• Age: 34
• Height: 6’0’’
• Reach: 75.5”
• Weight: 155lbs (70kg)
• Record: 23-12

They’ll have to brother, they’ll have to – [a win] that completely changes the direction [of lightweight]. Like many of the big names in the division are all coming off losses… Oliveira, Poirier, Gaethje, Chandler – all of these guys will want something I have, which is a three-fight win streak. Who else is there? You ain’t getting a title shot off a loss; if you want to be next in line, then what now? Arman’s next in line, but who’s after that? It’ll be the winner of this weekend.

Dan Hooker

Dan Hooker is a 3.50 underdog on Betway. On Bet365, a decision for the favorite Mateusz Gamrot is priced at 1.74 odds with a bet that the fight will end inside the distance at 2.80. 1XBET lists a unanimous decision at 1.77 odds and a split decision at 5.7. Read more here.