Dan Hooker vs Benoit Saint-Denis UFC 325 result: Recent contender breaks through with brutal beating

A light-weight contender emerged from Saturday’s co-main event in Australia.

Before the controversial rematch between Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes for the featherweight title headlined UFC 325, a highly anticipated showdown at 155 kilos set the stage for the most important event.

At Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena, Oceania’s own Dan Hooker fought Benoit Saint-Denis in a fight that looked certain to supply fireworks for the fans in attendance.

As a substitute, though, the gang witnessed a one-sided beatdown as a brand new contender entered the lightweight title picture.

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Benoit Saint-Denis batters Dan Hooker in UFC 325 TKO

On the second numbered event of 2026 and of the UFC’s $7.7 billion Paramount broadcast deal, Hooker was trying to quickly bounce back from the one-sided submission defeat he suffered by the hands of Arman Tsarukyan in Qatar last November.

Saint-Denis, meanwhile, hoped to proceed his momentum after a bumper 2025 that saw him mount a resurgence with three straight wins, probably the most recent of which was a 16-second knockout of Beneil Dariush.

It was ultimately Saint-Denis who achieved his goal in Sydney, and he did so in brutal fashion.

Hooker enjoyed a powerful start, almost catching Saint-Denis in a decent guillotine choke. The Frenchman began to seek out his feet at the top of the opening frame and capitalized on the Kiwi making a giant mistake within the second when his attempted takedown was reversed.

After throwing some brutal elbows, ‘God of War’ ultimately worked his strategy to an arm-triangle choke. Hooker was in a position to survive but continued to endure a beating on the bottom.

Within the dying seconds of round two, the onslaught of punches forced the referee to intervene and wave off the fight.

Saint-Denis has now won 4 fights in a row since a two-fight losing skid dented his title hopes. Hooker, meanwhile, has been stopped in back-to-back outings after previously being submitted by Tsarukyan.

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Justin Gaethje won lightweight gold every week before UFC 325

While the 155-pound division was within the co-headline highlight Down Under, it took up a lot of the attention in Las Vegas last week.

Justin Gaethje beat Paddy Pimblett at UFC 324 to turn out to be a two-time interim champion. While that seemingly arrange a unification showdown with champion Ilia Topuria, the uncertainty surrounding the Spaniard’s return could push the promotion into other options.

Along with Arman Tsarukyan and the winner of Max Holloway vs Charles Oliveira at UFC 326, perhaps Saint-Denis can be within the discussion after his triumph in Sydney.