Bloody Dan Hooker brutally stopped by dominant &#8216;God of War&#8217; as crowd silenced at UFC 325

Feb 1, 2026 - 05:00

Dan Hooker was busted open badly in a tough loss to Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 325.

Hooker had a strong start to the fight, but momentum quickly shifted when Saint Denis secured an early takedown and made the Kiwi pay on the canvas.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 01: (L-R) Benoit Saint Denis of France knees Dan Hooker of New Zealand in a lightweight fight during the UFC 325 event at Qudos Bank Arena on February 01, 2026 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) — Saint Denis pieced up Hooker as he grew into the fight

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 01: (L-R) Benoit Saint Denis of France elbows Dan Hooker of New Zealand in a lightweight fight during the UFC 325 event at Qudos Bank Arena on February 01, 2026 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) — Hooker fell to his second successive defeat after some brutal elbows in front of the Australian crowd

After almost submitting Hooker in the second round, Saint Denis continued to ruthlessly pile on the pressure.

The fight was stopped when the Frenchman landed a series of devastating elbows, with the Australian crowd all rooting for the home fighter left in silence.

Speaking to Daniel Cormier in his post-fight interview, ‘God of War’ made it clear he wants just one thing next.

Benoit Saint Denis wants title fight next

“I’m going to be champion, give me the belt, I’m ready,” Saint Denis said.

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He then mentioned Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje, Max Holloway and Ilia Topuria as suitable opponents next, with his preference being an undisputed or BMF title bout.

“I did s*** in the first two minutes of the fight, I was thinking too much,” he added before insisting he then turned it on ‘BSD’ style.

Saint Denis was ranked No. 8 at lightweight ahead of UFC 325 but will leapfrog Hooker in sixth after the win.

That leaves only Paddy Pimblett, Holloway, Oliveira, Arman Tsarukyan, Gaethje and Topuria above the former soldier, making his callout likely to come to fruition.

The 30-year-old made an unsuccessful UFC debut in 2021 before embarking on a five-fight winning streak.

He then suffered back-to-back defeats to Dustin Poirier and Renato Moicano and was largely disregarded as a serious contender at 155lbs.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 01: Dan Hooker of New Zealand reacts after a TKO loss against Benoit Saint Denis of France in a lightweight fight during the UFC 325 event at Qudos Bank Arena on February 01, 2026 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) — Hooker took some heavy shots in the main card fight at UFC 325

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 01: Benoit Saint Denis of France reacts after a TKO victory against Dan Hooker of New Zealand in a lightweight fight during the UFC 325 event at Qudos Bank Arena on February 01, 2026 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) — Saint Denis wants a title fight next

However, after four successive stoppage wins, including a 16-second knockout win over Beneil Dariush, Saint Denis has now proved he’s ready to challenge at the top.

Elsewhere on the main card at UFC 325, Mauricio Ruffy made some big callouts after an impressive win over Rafael Fiziev.

Tallison Teixeira stopped Tai Tuivasa in a heavyweight slugfest, and Quillan Salkilld put his fellow lightweights on notice with another stoppage win in the UFC against Jamie Mullarkey.