The stare-down between Dan Hooker and Arman Tsarukyan exploded online the moment the headbutt landed not because of the contact itself, but because of the reaction. Tsarukyan lunged. Hooker laughed. That tiny emotional contrast may tell us more about this fight than people think.
The whole moment brought back everything fans love about Dan Hooker. As someone who discovered him during COVID, watching the Hooker vs. Poirier war on YouTube with no crowd noise, just the raw thud of punches echoing in an empty arena, that was the night Hooker became a favorite fighter to watch.