A pair of top ten lightweights anchor the UFC Auckland card, as Paul Felder vs. Dan Hooker has been announced as the main event.
The UFC’s return to Auckland, New Zealand has its headliner set. Popular lightweights Paul Felder and Dan Hooker will clash in the UFC Auckland main event, the promotion announced Wednesday. The card takes place in late February, with tickets going on sale on December 6.
BREAKING: @felderpaul will take on @danthehangman in the #UFCAuckland main event 🔥
Tickets on sale Dec 6th. Register at https://t.co/nye8CF830H to get pre-sale access 🎟🎟 pic.twitter.com/ztO2GVGBLj
— UFC Aus/New Zealand (@UFC_AUSNZ) November 27, 2019
Felder (17–4) is 5-1 across his past six fights, and 2-0 since returning to lightweight. Those two wins have come over James Vick and Edson Barboza. The latter saw ‘The Irish Dragon’ avenge a 2015 loss to Brazil’s Barboza.
Felder has also become a popular mainstay on commentary duties for the UFC of late.
Dan Hooker (19-8) will have the hometown advantage at UFC Auckland. The New Zealand native is 9-4 in the UFC, but 6-1 in his last seven octagon appearances. Coincidentally or not, that stretch kicked off as he returned to the lightweight division after a stint at featherweight.
The 29-year old ‘Hangman’ was born in Auckland, and fought there for much of his early career.
UFC Auckland, which will be a Fight Night card, is expected to air on ESPN+. The event is set to take place February 23 (or February 22 in North America) at the Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand.
