Former interim lightweight champion Dustin "The Diamond" Poirier returned to the octagon on Saturday after a nine-month layoff against No. 5 ranked Dan Hooker in the UFC Vegas 4 main event. Poirier hoped to rebound for a loss to champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in his last outing while Hooker was looking to put himself in title fight contention.
In the opening round, the two wasted little time before exchanging. Hooker targeted Poirier's legs with kicks while Poirier connected with right hands. It was a back-and-forth round with Hooker landing at a higher rate.