4 years after deadly war, Dan Hooker admits Dustin Poirier choked him out mid-fight with guillotine

155-pound stalwart and all-around “good guy” Dustin Poirier sticks to a particular script. The “gilly ain’t silly” shtick became a comic routine after the UFC 299 pay-per-view event in Miami. He’d opt to break out in berserk guillotine chokes despite never winning a single bout via the submission technique. However, UFC lightweight star Dan Hooker says otherwise.

It’s a surprising year of near-misses, after all! For example, former BMF champion Justin Gaethje scored a near-knockdown of Max Holloway in April’s historic PPV Event. However, it didn’t register as a lateral position knockdown. Now, veteran lightweight Dan Hooker hilariously suggests that Poirier might have gotten a guillotine in that had him going unconscious.

He must have just run out of steam squeezing…I woke up and I was like ‘Oh the fight’s still going?’…So, he did finish a guillotine, it’s just no one realized… I full-on woke up smelling the canvas and was like ‘Ah’ – I thought the fight was over…Generally, when you wake up and you’re smelling the canvas, the fight is generally over.
Dan Hooker during the Fox Sports’ mainevent Preview Show (@mainevent)

The now-infamous ‘Gilly Season’ became famous as an adherence when an underdog, Dustin Poirier, took on Benoit Saint-Denis. Coach Mike Brown was caught on camera telling Poirier not to go for the same submission technique. Nevertheless, he would rack up six guillotines against advisement. Conversely, it happens neither he nor referee Herb Dean caught the scent that the Kiwi fighter was out in the 2020 bout.

It was an insightful information that the MMA community received from Hooker. Unfortunately, fans might not ever see the ‘Diamond’ jump for a gilly again. Poirier now joins Chael Sonnen and others for analyst desk duties for this weekend’s ESPN Broadcast for UFC 303. It is safe to say that the former interim lightweight champ edges toward retirement, whereas Hooker wants to keep fighting.

Dan Hooker and Dustin Poirier: Where do they go from here?

Poirier (30-8 MMA, 22-7 UFC) recently fell short in his third bid to capture undisputed gold against lightweight champ Islam Makhachev. The duo met at UFC 302: Makhachev vs Poirier, Live from Prudential Center, where the Dagestani ended it with a D’Arce choke at the 2:42 mark of R5. Ever since, Dustin Poirier has been leaning towards retirement.

Dustin Poirier, Dan Hooker (Source: IMAGO)

Take two occasions into consideration. He attended a media round interview, where he told ‘The Fight Bananas Show LIVE’ co-host Elle Dawson that he wants to end his chapter. Now, post-UFC 302, he told his close friend Ariel Helwani that he was looking for clarity. Poirier mentioned he’d have hung up the gloves on the spot if he won the title.

So it’s all up in the smoke for now. However, added to that, a recent tweet by the 35-year-old has fans in a frenzy. The industry great voiced his satisfaction at having battled greats; is he finally moving on? It’s anyone’s guess.