Dan Hooker said he was going to violently take out Paul Felder today at UFC Auckland. But the rugged vet ate all the shots he took from Hooker and scored innumerable, punishing shots of his own.
Round one
Hooker fired in several calf kicks right out of the gate. Felder missed with a spinning backfist and stumbled to the floor briefly. Felder pressed forward but took a couple more calf kicks. Felder scored with a 1-2. Hooker planted a few more kicks to the calf of Felder. Both men winged some big punches mid round. Felder grazed Hooker with a spinning kick to the chest and the fight briefly went to the deck. Felder continued to move forward, fired big hooks, before the round ended.
Round two
Felder’s right eye was starting to swell up as the second round began. Felder missed with an elbow and Hooker came with jabs and more calf kicks. Hooker flurried in but Felder fired back a hook. A couple of minutes in, Hooker clinched up and started moving to Felder’s back. Hooker gave up the clinch and they traded calf kicks. Felder went for a spinning kick to the body that didn’t appear to land flush. Felder charged in and then just missed with a spinning back fist. Both men scored with hard punches before the round ended. Wow. Great action.
Round three
The volume dropped off a bit in the first minute of the round. Both men continued to score with calf kicks and jabs. Hooker planted a nice straight right but ate a hard jab moments later. Hooker started pressuring more, looking to engage in the pocket. Felder’s face looked far worse for wear than Hooker’s. Felder fired in a spinning kick to the body but Hooker returned fire. Before the round ended, Felder changed levels but Hooker defended and pushed him to the fence. Hooker has swelling on the right side of his cheek/jaw.
Round four
Felder planted a couple more hard leg kicks to begin the round and continued to move forward behind big hooks. Hooker landed a few more jabs but he ate a huge right now long after. Hooker changed levels and pushed Felder to the fence. They broke apart and traded more shots before Hooker clinched up again. The action moved back to the center of the Octagon and Felder scored with more jabs. Hooker charged in and clinched up once more.
Round five
Felder came out pressuring once more. Felder tagged Hooker with a hard right hand about a minute in and then again, not long after. Hooker continued to circle away and a couple of minutes in, he shot in and clinched up. Hooker gave up the clinch and they traded punches. Hooker just missed with a massive left hook. Felder fired in another spinning backfist that missed the target but planted a right. Moments later, Hooker finally was able to take Felder down. Felder managed to scramble out to his feet before the final horn went. What a war.
Hooker received the split decision win. After the bout, Felder said he might retire due to his responsibilities as the father of a four year-old. Hooker, meanwhile, called for a fight with Justin Gaethje.
UFC Auckland results
Here are the complete results for UFC Auckland.
Dan Hooker def. Paul Felder via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)
Jim Crute def. Michael Oleksiejczuk via submission (kimura) R1, 3:29
Yan Xiaonan def. Karolina Kowalkiewicz via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
Marcos Rogerio De Lima def. Ben Sosoli via TKO (punches) R1, 1:28
Brad Riddell def. Magomed Mustafaev via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Zubaira Tukhugov def. Kevin Aguilar via TKO (strikes) R1, 3:21
Jalin Turner def. Joshua Culibao via TKO (strikes) R2, 3:01
Jake Matthews def. Emil Meek via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Song Kenan def. Callan Potter via KO (punches) R1, 2:20
Kai Kara France def. Tyson Nam via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Angela Hill def. Loma Lookboonmee via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Priscila Cachoeira def. Shana Dobson via KO (punch) R1, 0:40
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