Ten months from now, when “Fight of the Year” lists are compiled, Dan Hooker’s five-round thriller againstPaul Felder is likely to merit consideration.
But while the notion of where the fight might ultimately rate is up for conjecture, there’s little doubt Hooker’s split-decision victory was the best fight on Saturday night’s UFC on ESPN+ 26 card.
The UFC agreed, too, as it awarded Hooker and Felder “Fight of the Night” for the card at Spark Arena in Auckland New Zealand, meaning both fighters will go home with an extra $50,000 for their tremendous effort.
For Felder, the award marks the fifth postfight bonus in a UFC stint which dates back to 2014. For Hooker, who has also been with the company since 2014, it was his fourth.
“Performance of the Night” went to a pair of worthy competitors as well.
Jimmy Crute got the job done in the evening’s light heavyweight co-feature fight, using a Kimura to finish Michał Oleksiejczuk in the opening round of their bout. And Priscila Cachoeira made a big statement that she belongs in the UFC. Cachoeira, who lost her first three bouts in the company, opened the card by knocking out Shana Dobson in 40 seconds.
They also take home $50,000 apiece in what was the first career bonus for both.
The UFC announced a sellout crowd of 10,025 paying a gate of $1,239,625 USD, both of which are Spark Arena records.
UFC on ESPN+ 26 bonuses: Dan Hooker vs. Paul Felder an obvious 'Fight of the Night'
