Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Check out the key facts, figures and footnotes for Event Name, which is headlined by Paul Felder vs. Dan Hooker.
Check out the key facts, figures and footnotes for Event Name, which is headlined by Paul Felder vs. Dan Hooker.
A featherweight matchup between Kevin Aguilar and Zubaira Tukhugov is the latest addition to UFC Auckland.
A featherweight matchup is the latest addition to UFC on ESPN+ 26 in New Zealand.
[autotag]Kevin Aguilar[/autotag] (17-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) will take on [autotag]Zubaira Tukhugov[/autotag] (18-4-1 MMA, 3-1-1 UFC), UFC officials announced Tuesday. The bout was first reported by journalist Igor Lazorin.
The event takes place Feb. 22 (Sunday, Feb. 23 locally) at Spark Arena in Auckland. The card is set to be streamed live on ESPN+.
Aguilar saw his nine-fight win streak snapped in his last outing in June when he dropped a unanimous decision to Dan Ige at UFC on ESPN+ 12 in Greenville. The former Legacy FC featherweight champion and Dana White’s Contender Series vet will look to get back to the win column against Russia’s Tukhugov, who is chasing a long-overdue victory of his own.
The 28-year-old from Grozny returned from a three-year layoff at UFC 242 in September, but was unable to pick up the win as he battled to a split draw with British debutant Lerone Murphy. Now the teammate of UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will take on the dangerous Aguilar in a pivotal bout for both men.
The event will be headlined by a lightweight clash between crowd-pleasing strikers Paul Felder and Dan Hooker.
With the addition, the latest UFC on ESPN+ 26 card includes:
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The UFC is working on a bout that pits two cast members of “The Ultimate Fighter 26” against each another.
The UFC is working on a bout that would pit two cast members of “The Ultimate Fighter 26” against one another.
A flyweight fight between [autotag]Rachael Ostovich[/autotag] and [autotag]Shana Dobson[/autotag] is in the works for UFC Auckland. Both fighters will look to snap recent losing streaks.
Wednesday, two people with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie of the booking. However, they asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
While they were both featured on “TUF 26,” Ostovich (Team Gaethje) and Dobson (Team Alvarez) were members of opposing teams. The two fighters were on opposite sides of the bracket, and never crossed paths while in the house.
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After defeating Karine Gevorgyan in her promotional debut at the TUF 26 Finale, Ostovich (4-5 MMA, 1-2 UFC) dropped back-to-back outings inside the distance against Montana De La Rosa and Paige VanZant.
In her promotional debut, Dobson (3-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) finished Ariel Beck by strikes at the TUF 26 Finale. Thereafter, Dobson lost to Lauren Mueller and Sabina Mazo by unanimous decision in consecutive outings.
UFC Auckland takes place Feb. 22 (Sunday, Feb. 23 locally) at Spark Arena in Auckland. The card is likely to stream on ESPN+.
With the addition, the latest UFC Auckland card includes:
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UFC Auckland headliners Paul Felder and Dan Hooker engaged in an intense staredown outside Spark Arena in New Zealand.
If their first faceoff is any indicator of what we’ll get on Feb. 22, then we’re in for a banger.
[autotag]Paul Felder[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) takes on [autotag]Dan Hooker[/autotag] (19-8 MMA, 9-4 UFC) in the main event of UFC Auckland, and the two faced off for the first time outside Spark Arena in New Zealand ahead of their fight.
INTENSE!! @FelderPaul and @DanTheHangman square off for the first time ahead of #UFCAuckland! pic.twitter.com/ML9Khf8dyA
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) December 4, 2019
Gauging from the intensity of the staredown, both guys mean business. On paper, this should be a good one.
The promotion also announced that tickets are officially on sale for UFC Fight Club members, in a card that will feature multiple fighters from the Australasian region such as Tyson Pedro, Jake Matthews and Ben Sosoli.
🚨 New Zealand! #UFCAuckland tickets are now ON SALE for UFC Fight Club members: https://t.co/37GYBXcgNm 🚨 pic.twitter.com/iLhIsJXFCa
— UFC Aus/New Zealand (@UFC_AUSNZ) December 3, 2019
UFC Auckland takes place Feb. 22 (Sunday, Feb. 23 locally) at Spark Arena in Auckland. The card is likely to stream on ESPN+.
The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.
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With the main event of Paul Felder vs. Dan Hooker booked, the rest of the UFC Auckland card is starting to take shape.
With the main event of Paul Felder vs. Dan Hooker booked, the rest of the UFC Auckland card is starting to take shape.
According to The New Zealand Herald, the UFC has confirmed three more fights: Tyson Pedro vs. Vinicius Moreira, Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs. Ben Sosoli, and Jake Matthews vs. Emil Meek.
Pedro (7-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) will return to the octagon for the first time since December 2018. He’s missed all of 2019 while recovering from knee surgery. Pedro will look to snap a two-fight losing streak. In his last fight at UFC Fight Night 142, Pedro lost to Mauricio Rua via third-round TKO.
Moreira (9-4 MMA, 0-3 UFC) will enter on a three-fight losing streak. He most recently was submitted by Paul Craig via rear-naked choke in September at UFC on ESPN+ 17.
Sosoli (7-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will return to the octagon for the second time after his fight with Greg Hardy last month at UFC on ESPN 6 was declared a no contest because of Hardy using an inhaler in between rounds. His opponent, de Lima (16-6-1 MMA, 5-4 UFC), has alternated wins and losses in his last seven bouts.
With the additions, the latest UFC Auckland card includes:
A lightweight bout between Magomed Mustafaev and Brad Riddell is the first addition to the UFC Auckland card.
A lightweight bout is the first addition to the UFC’s return to New Zealand.
[autotag]Magomed Mustafaev[/autotag] (15-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) will take on [autotag]Brad Riddell[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) at UFC Auckland. The fight was first reported by journalist Igor Lazorin.
UFC Auckland takes place Feb. 22 (Sunday, Feb. 23 locally) at Spark Arena in Auckland. The card is likely to stream on ESPN+.
Mustafaev returned from a layoff of two and a half years in April and picked up a first-round finish of Rafael Fiziev in Russia. He earned a “Performance of the Night” bonus for the TKO. He was scheduled to take on Don Madge at UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi, but was forced out due to undisclosed reasons. Mustafaev has finished all 15 of his pro MMA wins.
The New Zealand-born Riddell made good on his UFC debut in a “Fight of the Night” unanimous decision win against Jamie Mullarkey at UFC 243. The former kickboxer trains with the likes of UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and lightweight contender Dan Hooker at the City Kickboxing gym in Auckland.
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The UFC will return to New Zealand in the new year for the first time since mid-2017.
The UFC will return to New Zealand in the new year for the first time since mid-2017.
A “Fight Night” event is planned for late February in Auckland, the country’s most populous city, UFC officials recently told the New Zealand Herald following an initial report from Neil Rooke.
UFC Auckland is expected to take place Feb. 22 (Sunday, Feb. 23 locally) at Spark Arena in Auckland. The card is likely to stream on ESPN+. No bouts have been announced for the event.
The event will be the third time the UFC has set up shop in New Zealand. UFC Fight Night 43 took place in the same venue (when it was called Vector Arena) in June 2014. And in June 2017, UFC Fight Night 110, headlined by a heavyweight fight between Mark Hunt and Derrick Lewis, went down in the building.
Building an event with fighters from the region is seldom an issue for the UFC. The promotion has several standout fighters on its roster who are from New Zealand or nearby Australia.
Most notable right now is middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, who trains in New Zealand with Dan Hooker and Kai Kara-France. Former middleweight champ Robert Whittaker, who lost his title to Adesanya, is from Australia.
