Mateusz Gamrot vs. Dan Hooker is our prediction for UFC 305 Fight of the Night

The UFC is returning to Perth, Australia on August 17 at the RAC Arena for UFC 305. The main event will be Dricus Du Plessis, the newly crowned middleweight champion, attempting to successfully make his first title defense against former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. The co-main event will be No. 4 ranked Kai Kara-France and No. 7 ranked Steve Erceg fighting in an exciting, flyweight battle. The whole fight card was looking okay to start, but it looked like it could use one more major, exciting fight to level it up and get everyone excited. No. 11 ranked Dan Hooker was healed up from a broken arm in a long layoff and wanted to compete in Australia against anyone. Adesanya was vocal to the UFC bosses about wanting Hooker to get a fight at UFC 305, so it could boost excitement.

The wish was eventually granted as Hooker got booked with No. 5 ranked Mateusz Gamrot. Not only did this fight elevate UFC 305, but it established itself as a lead contender for the Fight of the Night bonus. Gamrot is a skilled wrestler who always pushes a pace on all his opponents. Though his main specialty is striking, Hooker's wrestling defense is solid enough that he can hold up and possibly force Gamrot into a firefight. Both of these fighters are tough, and they are not easy to dominate. This can be a war due to both fighters refusing to go down while showing commitment to impose their own will on the other opponent.

Hooker has been competing in MMA since 2009, as he trains at City Kickboxing with top athletes Adesanya, Alexander Volkanovski, and Kara-France. He has experience with kickboxing, as he has a record of 9-1-3. Hooker is 6 feet tall, and he uses his 75.5 in. reach for his range-striking style. He has decent cardio and great durability, as he likes to engage in brawls with opponents. The only knockout losses of his career are against Edson Barboza, who shut him down with body kicks, and Michael Chandler, who landed a perfect, powerful right hand, followed by ground strikes. Notable victories of Hooker's UFC career include Jim Miller, Gilbert Burns, Paul Felder, and Jalin Turner.

Mateusz Gamrot vs. Dan Hooker is the UFC 305 fight to watch

Gamrot started MMA in 2012, as he trains at American Top Team with notable fighters such as Dustin Poirier and Renato Moicano. Wrestling is everything to his fighting career, as that is his major background and go-to fight style. He may be 5 foot 10, but that does not stop Gamrot from putting a pace on any opponent, regardless of size. Though Gamrot has a tendency to get rocked or dropped in nearly every UFC fight, his recovery is impressive. He has never been knocked out or submitted in his whole career. He possesses notable wins over Carlos Diego Ferreira, Arman Tsarukyan, Turner, and Rafael dos Anjos.

On paper, Gamrot should easily win this fight due to his wrestling style being a tall order for many fighters to overcome. However, Hooker's defensive wrestling is good enough to help him win this fight. The last fighter to outwrestle Hooker dominantly to a unanimous decision was Jason Knight, who took him down four times, out of 13 takedown attempts, in November 2016 at UFC Melbourne. He has improved since then, most notably seen in his fight with Poirier in June 2020. Despite losing a decision, he was only taken down once, in seven attempts. Hooker also possesses good, offensive knees, which can be a good asset in defending takedowns as they can make wrestlers pay for shooting.

If the fight remains standing long enough, Hooker can win this fight, whether it is by outstriking Gamrot or finding a stoppage. Though his striking is not the best, Gamrot is tough as nails. There have been times when Gamrot has tried to throw a right, head kick and instead, let himself be dropped by a powerful, overhand left. Those times occurred in his only two, career losses to Guram Kutateladze and Beneil Dariush. Other times, Gamrot showed toughness were in his victories when he got backfisted by Tsarukyan, ate hard punches from Turner, and got kneed by Dos Anjos. It is either going to take one, big powerful attack or a load of volume to possibly put Gamrot away.

Regardless of who will win, this is shaping up to be a fun fight. The winner of this fight can be in talks for title contention with a solid victory. If the winner does not get a title shot, they could perhaps get a fun fight with a top-five contender such as Justin Gaethje. It will be wonderful to see when the fight, that single-handedly boosted UFC 305, ends up being the best fight of the card. Both fighters will each have moments, given their unique styles, and will not go down without giving it their all. Australia having one of the best crowds on earth will add to this exciting war.