An exciting five-round lightweight bout between Dan Hooker and Paul Felder is set as the main event for UFC Auckland.
The card is set to take place February 23, 2020, at Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. Hooker himself announced the news via his Twitter.
Check it out below.
https://twitter.com/danthehangman/status/1199778229176823808
“UFC Auckland Main Event! Im going to smash Paul Felder’s face in. February 23rd, Spark Arena. Follow the link for ticket information: UFC.com/Auckland“
Felder called out Hooker recently in a hilarious social media post of his own, and he gets the fight he wanted.
https://twitter.com/felderpaul/status/1181748596397498378
Hooker wanted to fight an elite top contender at 155lbs such as Dustin Poirier or Justin Gaethje, but instead he’ll get Felder as his opponent. It’s still another top-10 opponent for Hooker, though not the top-five guy he wanted.
Hooker (19-8) has looked incredible since he moved up to 155lbs, going 6-1 at the weight class including back-to-back wins over Al Iaquinta and James Vick in his last two fights. His lone loss at lightweight came against Edson Barboza one year ago. Hooker is currently ranked No. 7 overall in the UFC’s official rankings.
Felder (17-4) has won five of his last six fights overall, including five straight at lightweight, with his lone loss during that stretch coming against Mike Perry at welterweight. Felder is coming off of two straight wins over the aforementioned Vick and Barboza. Felder is currently ranked No. 6 overall in the UFC’s official rankings.
No odds have been set for this fight as of yet, but with Hooker on such a nice win streak and fighting in his backyard of New Zealand, you can expect him to be favored to win this fight by the bookies. As well, you can fully expect numerous other local fighters to be booked for this card, though UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya doesn’t seem likely to be one of them as he’s destined to headline a big pay-per-view card instead.
Who do you think wins the UFC Auckland fight between Dan Hooker and Paul Felder?