Two of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s premier purveyors of lightweight violence—Paul Felder and Dan Hooker—will square off in the UFC Fight Night 168 main event on Saturday at Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand.
A former Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder, Felder has the wind of a modest two-fight winning streak in his sails. The 34-year-old Roufusport export last competed at UFC 242, where he eked out a controversial split decision over Edson Barboza on Sept. 7 and avenged a 2015 defeat to the dynamic Brazilian. Felder has compiled a 9-4 record since he linked arms with the UFC five-plus years ago. “The Irish Dragon” has secured more than half (10) of his 17 career victories by knockout or technical knockout.
Hooker also enters the match on the heels of back-to-back victories. He last fought at UFC 243 on Oct. 5, when he laid claim to a unanimous decision over “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 15 finalist Al Iaquinta. Hooker, 30, operates out of the same City Kickboxing outfit that reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya calls home. A potent offensive fighter with well-rounded skills, “The Hangman” sports 17 finishes among his 19 professional wins.
UFC Fight Night “Felder vs. Hooker”—which streams to ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT—will also feature a light heavyweight co-headliner between Jim Crute and Michal Oleksiejcsuk, a women’s strawweight clash pairing Xiaonan Yan with Karolina Kowalkiewicz, a heavyweight showcase pitting Ben Sosoli against Marcos Rogerio de Lima, a lightweight tilt slotting Brad Riddell opposite Magomed Mustafaev and a featherweight affair matching Kevin Aguilar with Zubaira Tukhugov. In addition, ESPN+ will stream the entire six-fight undercard, starting at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT.
A closer look at the UFC Fight Night “Felder vs. Hooker” particulars:
THE LINEUP
155: Paul Felder vs. Dan Hooker205: Jim Crute vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
115: Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Xiaonan Yan
265: Ben Sosoli vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima
155: Magomed Mustafaev vs. Brad Riddell
145: Kevin Aguilar vs. Zubaira Tukhugov
155: Jalin Turner vs. Joshua Culibao
170: Jake Matthews vs. Emil Meek
170: Kenan Song vs. Callan Potter
125: Kai Kara-France vs. Tyson Nam
115: Angela Hill vs. Konklak Suphisara
125: Priscila Cachoeira vs. Shana Dobson
THE RUNDOWN
• Preview• Weigh-in Report
• Prime Picks
• Pre-Fight Stock Report
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