Here’s how to watch the UFC fight tonight. Live stream UFC Fight Night 168 with Paul Felder vs Dan Hooker
UFC 168 features a fight to set up the top of the lightweight division when Paul Felder takes on Dan Hooker. You won’t want to miss any of this exciting battle and you’ll only be able to watch it on ESPN+.
Felder has won his last five of his last six fights, with two decision victories over James Vick and Edson Barboza being his latest. Hooker has won six of his last seven, ending five of them early with either knockouts or submission victories.
For both, a win could catapult them into the rotation for a title shot in the lightweight division. Undefeated champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is set to fight Tony Ferguson in April at UFC 249 — a fight Connor McGregor will be paying close attention to as his next shot at the title. But after those fights are settled, Felder and Hooker could be in the mix to face whoever is left standing with the belt.
You’ll only be able to watch UFC Fight Night 168 and other UFC events live on ESPN+, so sign up now!
How to watch UFC Fight Night 168:
Who: Paul Felder (17-4) vs. Dan Hooker (19-8)
When: Saturday, Feb. 22, 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: Spark Arena, Aukland, New Zealand
UFC stream:
UFC live stream: Watch the UFC fight tonight on ESPN+.
Main Card (7 p.m. ET)
Paul Felder vs. Dan Hooker: Lightweight
Jim Crute vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk: Light Heavyweight
Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Yan Xiaonan: Women’s Strawweight
Ben Sosoli vs. Marcos Rogerio De Lima: Heavyweight
Brad Riddell vs. Magomed Mustafaev: Lightweight
Prelims (4 p.m. ET)
Kevin Aguilar vs. Zubaira Tukhugov: Featherweight
Jalin Turner vs. Josh Culibao: Lightweight
Jake Matthews vs. Emil Meek: Welterweight
Callan Potter vs. Son Kenan:
Kai Kara France vs. Tyson Nam: Flyweight
Loma Lookboonmee vs. Angela Hill: Women’s Strawweight
Maki Pitolo vs. Takashi Sato: Welterweight
Priscila Cachoeira vs. Shana Dobson: Women’s Flyweight
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Analyzing Paul Felder vs. Dan Hooker odds, picks and betting lines for UFC on ESPN+ 26
Paul Felder and Dan Hooker square off in a light heavyweight bout on the main card at UFC on ESPN+ 26 – also called UFC Fight Night 168 – at the Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand Saturday. The card kicks off at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Felder (17-4-0) will travel into hostile territory to take on the kiwi Hooker. The 34-year-old American, nicknamed ‘The Irish Dragon’, enters this bout with victories in five of the past six fights. That includes a split-decision win over Edson Barboza at UFC 242 on the Khabib-Poirier card. Felder lost just once in six fights since Sept. 24, 2016.
Hooker (20-8-0) will have the New Zealand crowd behind him, while also holding the reach and a slight height advantage. In addition, he has a 4.73 Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute advantage to 3.55 for Felder. He is slightly more accurate in landing those strikes at 44.15-43.02 percent. Toss in the fact that Hooker has a slight advantage in takedown accuracy, takedown average and submission average, and there is a lot to like about the Kiwi.
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Paul Felder vs. Dan Hooker betting odds
Per BetMGM, Hooker (-167) is being backed by the people, and for good reason. He holds the advantages in all of the key statistics, and he’ll be fighting at home in front of a pro-Hooker crowd.
Take HOOKER (-167) to win on the 2-way line, and go with NO (-154) on the ‘Will the fight go the full five rounds?’ prop. I’ll be looking to pair Hooker with ZHANG WEILI (-176) on the UFC 248 card. If you have patience, and can wait to cash your ticket until March 7, Weili is going to blast Joanna Jedrzejczyk and is nice a toss-in for the parlay. We’ll preview that fight in early March.
New to sports betting? A $10 2-fighter parlay on Hooker (-162) and Weili (-176) would turn a profit of $15.07.
Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.
Like your ceremonial faceoffs to have a little bit of flavor? Paul Felder and Dan Hooker have you covered.
Like your ceremonial faceoffs to have a little bit of flavor? [autotag]Paul Felder[/autotag] and [autotag]Dan Hooker[/autotag] have you covered.
Felder (17-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) and Hooker (19-8 MMA, 9-4 UFC) faced off for one last time ahead of their UFC on ESPN+ 26 main event at today’s ceremonial weigh-ins at Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. The pair went nose-to-nose on the stage, a gesture that’s made in a traditional Maori greeting. However, there was certainly a touch of tension in the moment, as well.
Afterward, Hooker spoke first in front of a supportive crowd.
“I’m going to close him like a chair,” Hooker said.
Then, it was Felder’s time on the microphone, and he went straight at the booing fans.
“You guys are supporting your boy,” Felder said. “I respect you, but I’m coming in here to shut you up tomorrow night, I promise you that, and taking this win back to the United States of America. That I promise you.”
UFC on ESPN+ 26 takes place Saturday (Sunday locally) at Spark Arena. The event streams on ESPN+.
In the main event, [autotag]Paul Felder[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) takes on New Zealand’s own [autotag]Dan Hooker[/autotag] (19-8 MMA, 9-4 UFC) in a lightweight fight that is a couple years in the making. Hooker is just a slight favorite from the oddsmakers, but he has a fairly substantial 9-5 lead in the picks from our 14 MMA Junkie editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers.
In the co-main event, [autotag]Michal Oleksiejczuk[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) is a -150 favorite in his light heavyweight fight against Australia’s [autotag]Jimmy Crute[/autotag] (10-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC). But it’s Crute who has a whopping 12-2 lead in our picks.
[autotag]Yan Xiaonan[/autotag] (11-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) is the biggest favorite on the main card in her women’s strawweight bout against [autotag]Karolina Kowalkiewicz[/autotag] (12-5 MMA, 5-5 UFC). Xiaonan has a big 12-2 picks lead.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Marcos Rogerio de Lima[/autotag] (16-6-1 MMA, 5-4 UFC) is a mild favorite against Australia’s [autotag]Ben Sosoli[/autotag] (7-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at heavyweight. The Brazilian has an 11-3 edge in the picks.
[autotag]Magomed Mustafaev[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) is a -150 favorite in his lightweight bout against [autotag]Brad Riddell[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC), and he’s got a 12-2 blowout picks lead.
And to open the main card, [autotag]Kevin Aguilar[/autotag] (17-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) takes on [autotag]Zubaira Tukhugov[/autotag] (18-4-1 MMA, 3-1-1 UFC) in a featherweight fight. Aguilar is a slight favorite at the sportsbooks, but it’s Tukhugov who has a heavy 10-4 lead in the picks from our staff members.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Felder (53 percent), Crute (63 percent), Xiaonan (63 percent), Sosoli (63 percent), Mustafaev (66 percent) and Tukhugov (64 percent) are the choices.
MMA Junkie senior editor Dave Doyle walks you through five key storylines as the UFC heads to the hottest of 2020 MMA hotspots: New Zealand.
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New Zealand is the hippest of MMA hotspots these days. Auckland’s world-class gym, City Kickboxing, has captured two UFC championships in the past year, with Israel Adesanya taking the middleweight belt and Alexander Volkanovski following up by claiming the featherweight crown.
Which makes this the perfect time for the UFC to visit the island nation for the first time since 2017.
UFC Auckland isn’t the deepest card in company history, but it has its fair share of intrigue. That certainly applies to the main event, a bout between [autotag]Paul Felder[/autotag] and City Kickboxing’s own [autotag]Dan Hooker[/autotag], a matchup from which a legit lightweight contender should emerge.
The co-main, too, has high consequences, as the bout between Australian [autotag]Jimmy Crute[/autotag] and [autotag]Michał Oleksiejczuk[/autotag] should mark the winner as one to watch in the suddenly hot light heavyweight ranks.
UFC on ESPN+ 26 takes place Saturday (Sunday locally) at Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. The event streams on ESPN+.
Without further ado, here are five burning questions heading into UFC Auckland.
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Can Paul Felder break through to the top of the lightweight division?
Paul Felder
Felder (17-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) has not lost a lightweight fight since 2016.
That’s an easy fact to forget, because in his highest-profile fight since, Felder lost to Mike Perry a UFC 226 on a split decision and got his arm broken in the process.
But that fight was at welterweight, and otherwise, “The Irish Dragon” has been flawless, with five wins at 155 pounds. That includes three finishes, two post-fight bonuses, and last time out, he avenged a loss to Edson Barboza.
Now, Felder has accepted Hooker’s challenge and will face him on the latter’s home turf. The Roufusport product is 34. He’s coming up on a now-or-never point on whether he’s going to break into the highest ranks of the sport’s deepest division. If Felder can win under these circumstances, then he almost has to be given one of 155’s big dogs next.
Episode No. 256 of “The MMA Road Show with John Morgan” podcast is now available for streaming and download.
Episode No. 256 of “The MMA Road Show with John Morgan” podcast is now available for streaming and download.
MMA Junkie lead staff reporter John Morgan hosts the show while traveling the world to cover the sport.
It’s a busy week in combat sports, and John Morgan and Cold Coffee take a look at it all. The two talk about the wild ongoing situation surrounding Diego Sanchez before sharing Morgan’s interview with [autotag]Michael Chiesa[/autotag] with his take on the ordeal. Additionally, hear from UFC Auckland headliners [autotag]Paul Felder[/autotag] and [autotag]Dan Hooker[/autotag], as well as Hall of Fame boxing writer Kevin Iole to talk Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury II.
There were no issues on the scale for headliners Paul Felder and Dan Hooker ahead of their UFC Auckland clash.
UFC on ESPN+ 26 headliners [autotag]Paul Felder[/autotag] and [autotag]Dan Hooker[/autotag] were the first two fighters on the scale at official weigh-ins.
The lightweight contenders, who meet in Saturday’s main event (Sunday locally), successfully hit the mark at the Friday morning session, which took place at the UFC host hotel in Auckland, New Zealand.
Felder tipped the scale at 155.5 pounds; Hooker came in at 156, the divisional limit for a non-title bout.
The main event at UFC on ESPN+ 26, which goes down at Spark Arena and streams on ESPN+, is the first under the UFC banner for both Felder (17-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) and Hooker (19-8 MMA, 9-4 UFC).
+ CFFC lightweight title
+ Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt
+ Taekwondo black belt (2nd dan)
+ 10 KO victories
+ 1 submission win
+ 4 first-round finishes
+ KO power
+ Consistent pace and pressure
+ Solid feints and footwork
+ Diverse striking arsenal
^ Accurate spinning attacks
+ Dangerous knees and elbows
+ Underrated grappling ability
^ Shows submission acumen and awareness
+ Good butterfly guard/getups
+ Devastating ground-and-pound
+ Regional MMA titles
+ Brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt
+ 10 KO victories
+ 7 submission wins
+ 12 first-round finishes
+ KO power
+ Consistent pace and pressure
+ Good feints and footwork
^ Will switch stances
+ Works well off of lead hand
+ Accurate crosses and kicks
+ Dangerous knees and elbows
+ Improved wrestling
^ Defensively and offensively
+ Underrated grappler
^ Slick scrambling and submission acumen
Point of interest: Muay Thai maelstrom
The main event in Auckland features a fantastic clash of lightweight contenders who are very familiar with the art of eight limbs.
A muay Thai stylist who can stick and move off of pressure, [autotag]Dan Hooker[/autotag] wields a diverse arsenal of attack. Whether he’s fighting from orthodox or southpaw, the New Zealand native can strike well from either stance, both coming forward or off the counter.
Working nicely off of a long and well-placed jab, Hooker can offensively prod with effect or attach it to the end of combinations as a disruptive check to help dissuade counters. Often following up with his patented crosses and head kicks, the 30-year-old talent will continue to vary his tempo and attacks throughout the contest, steadily building in pace and pressure.
Helping glue together Hooker’s offensive repertoire is his ability to effectively feint in space – something that I suspect he can thank Eugene Bareman and the City Kickboxing crew for. Nevertheless, despite Hooker’s noted technical improvements and inherent chin, defense has not necessarily been his strong suit, making offense a potent, two-way street.
Enter “The Irish Dragon.”
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More of a come-forward stalking threat, [autotag]Paul Felder[/autotag] can throw a diverse arsenal of attack off of feints or shuffle-steps forward. Mixing in accurate spinning attacks from his taekwondo base, Felder does well at keeping himself on balance, ready to return at the drop of a dime. And since his time spent with the great Duke Roufus at Roufusport, Felder’s style seems to be growing even more synergistically given the seemingly perfect fit.
Appearing much more comfortable entering the pocket, Felder works behind his feinting left-hand, sitting down on check hooks and elbows when appropriate. Felder has also shown an ability to fight much more tactically when he needs to, as we saw him demonstrate this by smartly honing in on James Vick’s long limbs to land calf kicks.
If Felder can find a similar chink in Hooker’s armor early, then we could see his offense and aggression grow at a healthy rate throughout the battle. But considering Felder’s propensity to cut and wear damage, then he, too, will also need to properly weigh risk versus reward whenever he is looking to push forward.
Next point of interest: Potential grappling threats
See the best stats and figures about UFC Auckland, which features a Paul Felder vs. Dan Hooker lightweight main event.
The UFC hosts an event in New Zealand for just the third time in company history on Saturday with UFC on ESPN+ 26, which takes place at Spark Arena in Auckland and features a 13-fight lineup that streams entirely on ESPN+.
A key lightweight matchup with some bad blood is featured in the main event. [autotag]Paul Felder[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) and [autotag]Dan Hooker[/autotag] (19-8 MMA, 9-4 UFC) get an opportunity to headline a card for the first time when they jockey for position in the title picture of arguably the sport’s deepest weight class.
There’s a lot on the line atop the card, but there’s more to it, too. Check below for 40 pre-event facts about UFC on ESPN+ 26.
* * * *
Main event
Paul Felder
Felder competes in his first UFC main event.
Felder is 7-2 in his past nine UFC appearances dating back to January 2016.
Felder’s three UFC knockouts stemming from elbow strikes are tied with Curtis Blaydes for most in company history.
Felder is one of seven fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout victory stemming from a spinning backfist. He accomplished the feat at UFC 182.
Dan Hooker
Hooker is 6-1 since he moved up to the UFC lightweight division in June 2017.
Hooker has earned 17 of his 19 career victories by stoppage. That includes eight of his nine UFC wins.
Hooker has earned UFC knockouts stemming from a punch, kick, knee and elbows.
Hooker lands 6.16 significant strikes per minute in UFC lightweight competition, the fourth best rate in divisional history behind Justin Gaethje (8.57), TJ Grant (6.83) and Dustin Poirier (6.51).
Co-main event
Jim Crute
[autotag]Jim Crute[/autotag] (10-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC), 23, is the youngest of the 26 fighters scheduled to compete at the event.
Crute’s victory at the 4:51 mark of Round 3 at UFC Fight Night 142 is the second latest finish in a three-round UFC light heavyweight fight behind Paul Craig over Magomed Ankalaev at 4:59 of Round 3 at UFC Fight Night 127.
[autotag]Michal Oleksiejczuk[/autotag]’s (14-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) three knockdowns landed at UFC on ESPN+ 7 are tied for second most in a UFC light heavyweight bout behind Rountree’s four knockdowns landed at UFC 236.
Oleksiejczuk’s three knockdowns landed in 44 seconds are the most in the least amount of octagon time in a single UFC fight.
Remaining main card
Karolina Kowalkiewicz
[autotag]Karolina Kowalkiewicz[/autotag]’s (12-5 MMA, 5-5 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of her career. She hasn’t earned a victory since April 2018.
Kowalkiewicz is 2-5 in her past seven fights dating back to when she challenged for the UFC strawweight title in November 2016.
Kowalkiewicz has earned all five of her UFC victories by decision. She hasn’t earned a stoppage since May 2014.
Kowalkiewicz defends 83.7 percent of all opponent takedown attempts in UFC strawweight competition, the highest rate in divisional history.
[autotag]Yan Xiaonan[/autotag] (11-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) is 8-0 (with one no contest) since returning from a nearly five-year layoff in July 2015.
Xiaonan’s four-fight UFC winning streak in strawweight competition is tied for the second longest active streak in the division behind Tatiana Suarez (five).
Xiaonan landed 150 significant strikes against Syuri Kondo at UFC Fight Night 141, the single-fight record for a three-round UFC strawweight fight.
Xiaonan has earned all four of her UFC victories by decision.
Ben Sosoli
[autotag]Ben Sosoli[/autotag] (7-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has had his past two fights result in a no contest.
[autotag]Marcos Rogerio de Lima[/autotag] (16-6-1 MMA, 5-4 UFC) has alternated wins and losses over his past eight fights. He was defeated in his most recent bout at UFC on ESPN+ 3 in February 2019.
De Lima is 2-1 when competing in UFC heavyweight bouts.
De Lima has earned 14 of his 16 career victories by stoppage. He’s finished 13 of those wins in Round 1.
[autotag]Magomed Mustafaev[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has earned all 14 of his career victories by stoppage. He’s finished all three of his UFC wins by knockout.
Mustafaev is one of three fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a spinning back kick to the head. Renan Barao and Uriah Hall also accomplished the feat.
[autotag]Zubaira Tukhugov[/autotag] (18-4-1 MMA, 3-1-1 UFC) completes 56.5 percent of his takedown attempts in UFC featherweight competition, the second best rate in divisional history behind Diego Brandao (68 percent).
Preliminary card
Jake Matthews
[autotag]Jake Matthews[/autotag] (14-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) is 4-1 since he moved up to the UFC welterweight division in November 2017.
Matthews defends 71.6 percent of all opponent significant strike attempts in UFC welterweight competition, the third best rate in divisional history behind Georges St-Pierre (73 percent) and Luigi Fioravanti (71.9 percent)
[autotag]Emil Meek[/autotag] (9-4-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC) returns to competition for the first time since July 22, 2018. The 580-day layoff is the longest of his nearly nine-year career.
Meek enters the event on the first losing skid of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since December 2016.
Meek has been taken down 17 times in his three UFC appearances.
[autotag]Tyson Nam[/autotag] (18-10-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC), 36, is the oldest of the 26 fighters scheduled to compete at the event.
[autotag]Loma Lookboonmee[/autotag] (4-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is the only Thai-born fighter in history to earn a UFC victory.
Angela Hill
[autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag] (11-7 MMA, 6-7 UFC) competes in her 14th UFC strawweight bout, the most appearances in divisional history.
Hill makes her sixth UFC appearance in a 10-month stretch, the most in modern company history within that timeframe.
Hill is 5-5 since she returned to the UFC for a second stint in February 2017.
Hill’s six victories in UFC strawweight competition are tied for third most in divisional history behind Joanna Jedrzejczyk (nine) and Jessica Andrade (seven).
Hill’s two knockout victories in UFC strawweight competition are tied with Jedrzejczyk for second most in divisional history behind Rose Namajunas (three).
[autotag]Priscila Cachoeira[/autotag] (8-3 MMA, 0-3 UFC) has suffered three consecutive losses after starting her career 8-0. She hasn’t earned a victory since September 2017.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
Paul Felder isn’t quite sure why Dan Hooker is taking their fight so personally but says he thinks the fans will be big winners on fight night.
[autotag]Paul Felder[/autotag] isn’t quite sure why [autotag]Dan Hooker[/autotag] is taking this fight so personally, but thinks it will all result in a more entertaining for the fans anyway.
Felder and Hooker will both headline their first UFC show when they throw down at UFC on ESPN+ 26 in Auckland. It represents a trip into enemy territory for “The Irish Dragon,” who will be facing “The Hangman” in his home town.
Felder (17-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) posted some images poking fun at Hooker’s last name, which Hooker found offensive. He thinks Felder crossed the line, but for Felder the bad blood is a one-way street.
“Nope, totally on him,” Felder told MMA Junkie. “I don’t give a (expletive) to be honest with you. I’m here for one reason and it’s to put on a fistfight and get that win on Sunday. This whole stuff was fun for me, I was joking around but I’ve said it one hundred times now, we’re fist-fighting. It doesn’t matter if he likes me, he’s going to try and hurt me regardless. It can be whatever it needs to be. It’ll be more fun for the fans this way.
“Maybe he’s really offended, I don’t know either way. He doesn’t obviously have thick skin for this kind of stuff, but it wasn’t my intention to insult his surname and his family. It was never my goal, it was just having fun. He did tell me he was going to smash my face in first, so I didn’t take too kindly of that either but, like I said, we’re fighting.” We’re professional fighters, and no matter how much we like each other or don’t like each other, when the door closes on Sunday we’re going to be trying to beat the (expletive) out of each other.”
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On paper, the matchup certainly sells itself, with two of the most exciting, in-form lightweights on the UFC roster going head to head. And while Felder is impressed with Hooker’s recent performances, he sees areas in his game that he can exploit.
“(I’m) impressed by his calmness and his timing,” Felder said. “I think he stays very relaxed, he sets up his shots. He’s not exactly the fastest lightweight out there, especially coming off a fight where I fought Edson (Barboza) last. It’s probably one of the fastest guys I’ve ever dealt with in my life but I’m impressed with his timing, and with timing and placement comes power and you see that in a lot of his fights.
“But obviously I see holes and I see weaknesses, and I think they’re in all the areas that I’m really strong. I’m going to be able to put on a pace for this fight that you guys haven’t seen yet.”
