Hooker (left) hits Felder (right). Photo: Reproduction / Facebook @ufc
Fan party in New Zealand. In the main fight of UFC Auckland, held this Saturday (22), Dan Hooker made the New Zealand people happy by defeating Paul felder in a bloody 25-minute battle. At the end of five rounds, the 'owner of the house' prevailed in a split decision from the judges (48-47, 47-48, 48-47).
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At the end of the fight, despite the great duel, Felder announced that he is retiring from MMA. On the other hand, Hooker thanked the fans for their support and challenged Justin gaethje.
“This was for you. I defend my land no matter what. It was an honor, this guy is very tough. Now I want a top 5. I want Justin gaethje. Let’s do it,” Hooker said.
With the result, Hooker scores his third consecutive victory and reaches his 20th victory as a professional. Furthermore, the New Zealander, who was seventh in the lightweight rankings, should, at least, take sixth place from his rival. On the other hand, Felder ends his career in MMA with a record of 17 wins and five losses.
The fight
With two specialists in the fight standing, the expectation of an intense fight was confirmed in the first seconds. Lower down, Felder took the initiative in the dispute, landing good straight shots. On the other hand, Hooker responded with a kick to the American's base. Despite the blows to the leg being a weapon for the New Zealander, Felder even made his rival lose his balance with a kick to his rival's base.
In the second round, supported by the fans, Hooker came back ready to make up the difference. The New Zealander landed a good blow that closed Felder's right eye. Even with his vision compromised, the North American continued to fire stronger blows, undermining his rival's volume. With that, the New Zealander surprised and managed to dominate Paul's back in the clinch. The American, however, defended himself well on his feet and forced his opponent to return to the center of the octagon.
Hooker celebrates victory and challenges Gaethje. Photo: Reproduction / Facebook @ufc
In the third round, Felder continued to bet on the forcefulness of his blows. Each attack from the North American seemed to connect with force on his rival. On the other hand, Hooker was betting on volume. He moved more and hit the opponent more often.
Felder came back better in the fourth round. The American managed to take away Hooker's movement and combined good hand strikes to leave the New Zealander's face quite swollen. On the other hand, Dan tried to take a fall on a few occasions, but without success.
With the fight completely open, the fifth round could decide the winner. Felder tried to maintain the rhythm of the previous session and landed more blows on Hooker. However, with less than two minutes remaining, the New Zealander finally managed to take down his rival. Despite not connecting many blows, he scored points and guaranteed the fight in the judges' decision.
UFC Auckland Results
MAIN CARD
Light weight (up to 70,3kg.): Dan Hooker derrotou Paul felder in the judges' split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)
Light heavyweight (up to 93kg): Jimmy crute finished Michal Oleksiejczuk with a Kimura 3m29s from R1
Straw weight (up to 52,1kg): yan xiaonan derrotou Karolina Kowalkiewicz in the unanimous decision of the judges (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
Heavy weight (up to 120,2kg): Marcos Foot defeated Ben Sosoli by technical knockout at 1m38s of R1
Light weight (up to 70,3kg.): Brad Riddell defeated Magomed Mustafaev via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
PRELIMINARY CARD
Featherweight (up to 65,7kg): Zubaira Tukhugov derrotou Kevin Aguilar by technical knockout at 3m21s of R1
Light weight (up to 70,3kg.): jalin turner defeated Josh Culibao via TKO at 3:01 of R2
Welterweight (up to 77kg): Jake matthews defeated Emil Meek via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Light weight (up to 70,3kg.): Kenan Song defeated Callan Potter by knockout 2m20s into R1
Flyweight (up to 56,7kg): Kai Kara France defeated Tyson Nam via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Straw weight (up to 52,1kg): Angela Hill derrotou Loma Lookboonmee in the unanimous decision of the judges (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
Flyweight (up to 56,7kg): Priscila Pedrita defeated Shana Dobson by knockout at 40 in R1
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