Bellator commentator and veteran MMA official John McCarthy believes that Paul Felder edged out Dan Hooker at UFC Auckland, but admits it was not a robbery.
Hooker won a narrow split decision over Felder in the main event of UFC Auckland, with the judges scoring it 48-47, 47-48 and 48-47 in favor of the New Zealander. Fans and media were split on who they thought won the fight, but there was a certain subset of MMA fans who were adamant the decision to award Hooker the fight was a ‘robbery.’
Not so, according to McCarthy.
The veteran MMA referee and judge did score the fight 48-47 for Felder, but he said it was close enough that it’s not a robbery by any means. Speaking on the “Weighing In” podcast, McCarthy explained his scorecard.
“I’m okay with the call. It was a close fight. It was even going into the fifth round. They split rounds. No doubt, it’s easy. Hooker wins the first round. Felder comes back and he wins the second round. Go back and watch the power and watch Hooker get hurt. He got hurt. He never hurt Felder. Go back and watch it. Third round, Hooker jabs his head off. Hits him with a friggin’ jab like it’s a magnet. In the fourth round, Felder, man, comes out and he lays some big heavy right hands on him. He hurt him again. It was even going into the fifth round,” McCarthy said.
“In the fifth round, I think Paul landed the better shots. Dan went for the takedown because he got hurt. Okay, that’s what you got to figure out though. He got hurt. That’s why he goes for the takedown. He gets it, and then what does he do with it? Tell me what he did with that takedown. Come on, tell me. What was the big thing with it? Did he land anything good? He didn’t dominate sh*t. He got pushed to the side and he’s holding on. It’s not like he’s doing anything with it. And then Felder gets up, and then he kinda trips him back down, and he gets back up and the fight ends,” McCarthy continued.
“You look and you go, ‘Eh, it’s close.’ It’s not a robbery either way. I can understand why Paul Felder says, ‘I think I won.’ I can understand why Dan Hooker says, ‘I think I won.’ It was a good fight, they both fought their asses off.”
Do you agree with what John McCarthy said about the result of Dan Hooker vs. Paul Felder?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 2/26/2020.