UFC Fight Night 85: Dan Hooker masterfully chokes out Mark Eddiva in 84 seconds

Dan Hooker

BRISBANE, Australia – Daniel Hooker was just getting started when he found himself fending off a single-leg takedown attempt from Mark Eddiva.

But rather than content himself with stymying the attempt to get him to the mat, Hooker (13-6 MMA, 3-2 UFC) did one better, locking up a guillotine choke while Eddiva (6-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC) was preoccupied with the leg, and using it to force the submission at the 1:24 mark of Round 1.

The featherweight bout was part of today’s UFC Fight Night 85 preliminary card at Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It aired on FOX Sports 1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

The fight itself lasted only 84 seconds, and Eddiva seemed to be in trouble for about half of it. After eating a shot while mixing it up in the opening seconds, Eddiva moved right away to take the fight to the floor via a single-leg. The attempt initially seemed promising, as Eddiva elevated Hooker’s leg and forced him back against the fence.

Hooker managed to maintain his balance, and after realizing he was in no danger of being taken down just yet, quickly looped his arm over Eddiva’s head, wrapped up the neck, and moved to high-elbow position to preemptively stop the escape.

Eddiva realized he was in trouble, but as Hooker dropped down and rolled Eddiva onto his back, moving to full mount to finish the choke, there seemed to be very little he could do about it. Eddiva tried to tough it out, but couldn’t get an escape started and couldn’t dislodge Hooker from the top position. With his options narrowing, Eddiva was forced to tap, handing Hooker the first-round submission victory.

The victory bounces Hooker back into the win column after a unanimous decision loss to Yair Rodriguez this past October. Eddiva has now lost three straight.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 85 results include:

• Dan Hooker def. Mark Eddiva via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 1:24
• Leslie Smith def. Rin Nakai via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Viscardi Andrade def. Richard Walsh via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Ross Pearson def. Chad Laprise via split decision (28-30, 30-27, 29-28)
• Alan Patrick def. Damien Brown via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

For more on UFC Fight Night 85, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan contributed to this report on site in Brisbane.)