Dan Hooker and Paul Felder put on a show at UFC Fight Night 168 that won’t soon be forgotten.
The two lightweights received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their headlining affair at Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand, on Saturday night. The five-round contest featured multiple momentum swings and plenty of action, but ultimately it was Hooker who emerged with a split-decision triumph in front of his home crowd.
Elsewhere, Dana White’s Contender Series alum Jim Crute garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for a dominant triumph against Michal Oleksiejczuk in the evening’s light heavyweight co-main event. Crute landed eight takedowns in less than a round before submitting his Polish opponent with a kumura at the 3:29 mark of Round 1.
Finally, Priscila Cachoeira halted a three-bout skid in emphatic fashion, as she received the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for a quick knockout of Shana Dobson in a preliminary flyweight affair. Cachoeira ended what began as a wild brawl in short order when she put her foe away with a right uppercut 40 seconds into the opening frame.