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The UFC Auckland main event has been the topic of discussion days after the event ended. The headliner saw Auckland-native Dan Hooker take on the #6 ranked Irish Dragon Paul Felder and the two men went to war, leaving it to the judges for the decision.
Hooker would end up getting a razor-thin split decision victory - one which many thought Felder had narrowly one. It was primarily due to the striking stats, with Felder landing more significant strikes, head strikes, and body strikes.
Ultimately, Hooker was criticized for having gotten the "hometown nod" from the judges. However, Bellator commentator and former referee 'Big' John McCarthy disagreed and explained why he's ok with the call:
“Weighing In” podcast (H/T BJPENN.com)
“I’m okay with the call. It was a close fight. It was even going into the fifth round. They split rounds. No doubt, it’s easy. Hooker wins the first round. Felder comes back and he wins the second round. Go back and watch the power and watch Hooker get hurt. He got hurt. He never hurt Felder. Go back and watch it. Third round, Hooker jabs his head off. Hits him with a friggin’ jab like it’s a magnet. In the fourth round, Felder, man, comes out and he lays some big heavy right hands on him. He hurt him again. It was even going into the fifth round,” McCarthy said.
John McCarthy felt that Felder landed the better shots in the fifth round and said that Hooker was seemingly hurt, which led to him shooting for the takedown. It landed successfully, but McCarthy pointed out that he did nothing with the takedown and "didn't dominate s**t":
“You look and you go, ‘Eh, it’s close.’ It’s not a robbery either way. I can understand why Paul Felder says, ‘I think I won.’ I can understand why Dan Hooker says, ‘I think I won.’ It was a good fight, they both fought their asses off.”
It's a fair assessment and certainly not the worst decision we've seen in recent times. With that win, Hooker jumped to the #5 rank in the Lightweight division, while Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone slipped one place down to six and Paul Felder went one place down to #7.
Dan Hooker feels that Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier are the only fights that make sense for him right now. We agree with that sentiment.
