Dan Hooker explains why he was good with the referee stoppage in teammate Israel Adesanya’s title loss at UFC 281: “I’d rather it too early than too late”

Dan Hooker has explained why he was okay with the stoppage in Israel Adesanya’s main event loss at UFC 281.

Last weekend, Israel Adesanya lost his UFC middleweight title to Alex Pereira. The former champ was up 3-1 on the scorecards but in the fifth round, Pereira came on strong.

In reality, that’s a bit of an understatement, with ‘Poatan’ dropping ‘Stylebender’ before finishing him off with strikes.

In their combat sports series it now leaves Pereira with a 3-0 lead. Of course, Adesanya will do everything in his power to get the belt back if a rematch presents itself.

Earlier on in the night, Israel’s teammate Dan Hooker got back to winning ways against Claudio Puelles.

‘Hangman’ went on to watch the main event unfold as Adesanya fell to his Brazilian foe.

During a recent interview, Hooker spoke candidly about the stoppage after some deemed it to be a bit too early.

“It’s a weird line to walk. Even as a friend, because I know what he’s capable of, and because I’ve been there in the past,” Hooker said. “You have to absolutely kill [me]. You say that as the fighter. You go, ‘Make sure I’m dead.’ They know me, I don’t even have to say it… You, as the fighter, is always gonna think that.

Hooker gets honest about Adesanya

“Me, watching it as a friend, I just want him to be alright. As a friend and as a teammate, I’d rather it too early than too late,” Hooker added. “As a fighter, obviously you’re like, ‘Make sure I’m really not moving,’ but as a friend, as a teammate, I would prefer it to be too early than too late.”

Quotes via MMA News

Do you think the Alex Pereira vs Israel Adesanya stoppage was too early? Let us know in the comments, BJPENN Nation!