Photo credit: UFC Facebook
Take a look at the finalised fight card for UFC Fight Night: Felder vs Hooker, which is just two weeks away.
There are three Kiwis on the card; all City Kickboxing fighters; two in the main card and one on the preliminary card.
Dan ‘Hangman’ Hooker (19-8-0) is a veteran of the New Zealand fight scene.
This will be the first time he will headline a UFC card, against fellow lightweight division standout Paul ‘the Irish Dragon’ Felder (17-4-0).
Ranked numbers seven and six respectively on the UFC Lightweight roster, Hooker and Felder match up well on paper, both favouring their striking games.
The next Kiwi on the card is fellow CKB fighter Brad ‘Quake’ Riddell (6-1-0), coming off his triumphant UFC debut performance against fellow debutant Jamie Mullarkey, in what was a three-round slugfest.
Riddell will look to make it two from two in the UFC as he takes on hardened Russian southpaw Magomed Mustafaev (15-2-0).
This fight will answer a lot of Riddell’s critics, as Mustafaev has legitimate wrestling and holds a victory over Abubakar Nurmagomedov; the cousin of current UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
If Riddell can solve the riddle of Mustafaev he will be undeniable in the UFC.
Finally, Kai Kara-France (20-8-0) looks to rebound from a close decision loss to Brandon Moreno as he steps in to take on the veteran that is Tyson Nam (18-10-1).
Nam is likewise coming off a unanimous decision loss to Sergio Pettis in September, so both men will be looking to impress.
There have been several pull-outs from the event, though the replacements have been found and the fight card is finalised, with six fights on the main card and seven fights on the undercard, as below.
MAIN CARD:
|
Lightweight |
Paul Felder |
vs. |
Dan Hooker |
|
Light Heavyweight |
Jimmy Crute |
vs. |
Michał Oleksiejczuk |
|
Women's Strawweight |
Karolina Kowalkiewicz |
vs. |
Yan Xiaonan |
|
Heavyweight |
Ben Sosoli |
vs. |
Marcos Rogério de Lima |
|
Lightweight |
Magomed Mustafaev |
vs. |
Brad Riddell |
|
Featherweight |
Kevin Aguilar |
vs. |
Zubaira Tukhugov |
PRELIMINARY CARD:
|
Welterweight |
Jake Matthews |
vs. |
Emil Weber Meek |
|
Welterweight |
Callan Potter |
vs. |
Song Kenan |
|
Flyweight |
Kai Kara-France |
vs. |
Tyson Nam |
|
Featherweight |
Joshua Culibao |
vs. |
Jalin Turner |
|
Women’s Strawweight |
Looma Lookboonme |
vs. |
Angela Hill |
|
Welterweight |
Maki Pitolo |
vs. |
Takashi Sato |
|
Women's Flyweight |
Priscila Cachoeira |
vs. |
Shana Dobson |
Particularly outstanding in the above is Angela Hill’s last-minute addition to the card. Stepping in on two weeks’ notice to replace the injured Hannah Goldy, Hill is coming off a second-round TKO of Hannah Cifers just 4 weeks earlier.
This fight, against Thai stylist Lookboonme, will make it six fights in a calendar year for Angela Hill.
That is some Donald Cerrone-level commitment, which I hope the UFC will reward her commensurately for.
UFC Fight Night 168: Felder vs Hooker takes place from 9am on Sunday, February 23, at the Spark Arena in Auckland.
If you can’t make it to the event, it will be streaming live on UFC Fight Pass. Fight News will keep you updated in the coming weeks.
Comments