Dan Hooker is one of the hottest fighters in the lightweight division, and he continued his torrid winning streak Saturday night in the UFC Fight Night 168 headliner.
Hooker (20-8) has been on a roll inside the Octagon, having won two straight and six of seven overall entering Saturday’s bout with Paul Felder. As expected, Hooker and “The Irish Dragon” slugged it out for 25 minutes in arguably the best fight of the young 2020 campaign thus far. Both men had to dig deep and each took as good as he gave, but “The Hangman” was the one who had his hand raised in victory, the beneficiary of a split decision.
The fight was better than advertised and the official verdict of the war could have gone to either competitor. However, Hooker landed the more telling blows, scored a timely takedown late and won on two of the three judges’ cards. The City Kickboxing standout delighted his hometown fans inside the packed Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand, something he said helped him get the win.
“I’ll defend this land, no matter what the cost,” Hooker said. “It was an honor [to fight Paul Felder]. He’s a tough son of a gun. I enjoyed myself.”
Hooker was unavailable after the fight regarding the post-event press conference as both he and Felder were transported to a nearby hospital for precautionary measures. However, before he departed the arena, “The Hangman” made it abundantly clear as to whom he wants to next lock horns with.
“I want Justin Gaethje next,” he proclaimed. “Let’s go.”