Having spent 10 years in the UFC, Dan Hooker has become quite popular among fans. He’s had his fair share of outstanding performances and there were also times when his performances went bust. But how many times has he lost? Well, that is what we’re here to look at as ‘The Hangman’ prepares for his next clash against Polish star, Mateusz Gamrot, at UFC 305.

Currently, Dan Hooker is enjoying some momentum with two wins on the trot. However, it wasn’t always sunshine and rainbows because he had a rocky start in his UFC career. And guess what? His lackluster performances that led to losses came against some top 155-pound names ever.

Islam Makhachev, Michael Chandler, Dustin Poirier, and more: Dan Hooker’s UFC losses

Since the turn of this decade, Dan Hooker has fought the cream of the crop of the lightweight division. If we talk about some of the biggest fights he’s ever had, the clash against reigning lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 267 comes to mind. The Dagestan native registered an impressive Kimura submission win in the opening round itself. However, Hooker stepped in to fight on short notice, which didn’t allow him to have a full camp.

Moving over to ‘The Hangman’s next big fight, it was against ‘The Diamond’ Dustin Poirier. The former interim champion edged past the New Zealand ace in a bloody five-round slugfest, earning a unanimous decision win in the process. Thereafter, Dan Hooker butted heads against the slated opponent for Conor McGregor‘s comeback fight, Michael Chandler, and he scored a flash knockout over the 34-year-old.

Besides the lightweight contenders mentioned above, Dan Hooker has also failed to grab a win over Jason Knight, Edson Barboza, Maximo Blanco, Yair Rodríguez and Arnold Allen. But has he faced defeat outside of the UFC? Unfortunately, yes, and on more than one occasion.

Has ‘The Hangman’ lost an MMA fight outside the UFC?

Dan Hooker’s had a long career, and since he started, he’s lost a total of 12 times. Out of those 12 losses, 4 of them came before he joined the UFC in 2014. These outside-the-UFC losses took place when Hooker was competing in the Oceanic circuit (Australia and New Zealand). ‘The Hangman’ bit the dust for the first time in his second pro-MMA fight against a fellow Kiwi fighter named Adam Calver back in 2009.

At that time, Dan Hooker fought under the Solo Combat Federation banner, and after his first loss, he’d suffer two consecutive losses a couple of fights later in that same promotion. His final defeat before adventuring into the UFC took place when he fought in China, in 2012. Hooker succumbed to a submission defeat against Chinese MMA veteran, Haotian Wu.

With two consecutive wins, there’s a big opportunity for Dan Hooker to inch closer to a title shot, but Mateusz Gamrot certainly won’t be a piece of cake. What are your predictions for the fight? Drop your comments below.