Arman Tsarukyan vs. Dan Hooker | UFC Qatar Fight Night | Highlights

UFC Qatar: Dan Hooker submits to Arman Tsarukyan in Doha main event

With the opportunity to step into a UFC lightweight title shot, Dan Hooker was stopped at the door.

The Kiwi fell to a second-round submission in his main event bout against No 1-ranked Arman Tsarukyan in Qatar, tapping out to an arm triangle choke.

UFC Qatar results: Arman Tsarukyan smashes Dan Hooker for statement win, sends message to Ilia Topuria

Three fighters on Saturday's UFC Qatar show staked claims for a championship shot in their next fight, with strong performances from Arman Tsarukyan, Ian Machado Garry and Kyoji Horiguchi highlighting the action at the Ali Bin Hamed al-Attiyah Arena in Al Rayyan.

Tsarukyan (23-3) looked world-class in dispatching Dan Hooker (24-13) in the afternoon's main event. Hooker showed the Armenian switching stances in the first minute of the contest, but unraveled quickly under the surging contender’s strength, athleticism and technique, both on the feet and on the ground.

When Tsarukyan got to full mount in the second frame, it was only a matter of time before his physical prowess paid dividends. He quickly forced a tap from Hooker with an arm-triangle submission to stake his claim as the next contender for Ilia Topuria’s lightweight championship, with the official stoppage coming at the 2:34 mark of the round.

“If you’re here, Ilia, come on,” Tsarukyan said to Topuria, who had helped corner his brother, Aleksandre, for a decision win over Bekzat Almakhan on UFC Qatar's preliminary card. “There is just one No. 1-contender, and his name is Arman Tsarukyan.”

Tsarukyan wasn’t the only one to further his career in such a way, as returning UFC fighter Horiguchi transferred his dominance from RIZIN and Bellator to the UFC’s Octagon with a third-round rear-naked choke on Tagir Ulanbekov.

“I feel very good right now because I come back to UFC,” Horiguchi said, after annihilating the No. 11-ranked Ulanbekov. “Of course, I want a UFC belt,” he added. “Where is [Alexandre] Pantoja?”

That left Garry, who by no means was as electric in his victory as Tsarukyan or Horiguchi, but nonetheless handily defeated former UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad, then made a passionate plea for his shot at Islam Makhachev’s new 170-pound belt.

“I’m the best and you have a duty to defend that belt against the best in the world,” Garry said in a message to Makhachev. “I’m taking that throne from you. You’re done!”

Elsewhere on the card, Volkan Oezdemir beat Alonzo Menifield with beautiful boxing, Myktybek Orolbai battered Jack Hermansson, and Waldo Cortes-Acosta defeated Shamil Gaziev — all in the first round.

Other standout performances from UFC Qatar included Luke Riley, who scored a first-round knockout win over Bogdan Grad; Asu Almabayaev, who defeated Alex Perez with a come-from-behind standing guillotine choke; and Ismail Naurdiev, who thumped Bekzat Almakhan in the very first round.

Check out full UFC Qatar: Tsarukyan vs. Hooker results and highlights below, as well as Uncrowned's play-by-play of the main card.