Paul Felder shares hospital photo with Dan Hooker following UFC Auckland slugfest
While there has certainly been a lot of conversation surrounding who won the main event between Dan Hooker and Paul Felder at Saturday night’s UFC Auckland event, the real winners are the fans who watched the incredible battle.
After a 25-minute back-and-forth slugfest, Hooker had done enough on two of the judges’ scorecards to pick up a split decision win over Felder at the Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. After the bout, neither fighter was available for the post-fight press conference as both Hooker and Felder were sent to the hospital — which, if you watched the fight, shouldn’t be a surprise.
In fact, Felder shared a photo of both he and Hooker at the hospital via “The Irish Dragon’s” Instagram page. Check out the incredible image below:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B85Sd5LhTFd/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
There was certainly a lot said in the build-up to the fight from both competitors, and the bad blood spilled over just before the first punch was thrown. Felder extended his fists after the pre-fight instructions from the referee, only for Hooker to back away without touching gloves.
The animosity quickly turned to mutual respect following the event’s “Fight of the Night” as Hooker and Felder were both awarded $50,000 for their efforts.
After the decision was read, both fighters spoke to Dan Hardy in the Octagon to discuss where they may be heading in their respective careers. Hooker called for a fight with the surging Justin Gaethje following the victory in his first UFC main event. Felder, who also competed in his first UFC headliner, may have fought his last fight.
"If this is your last dance, thank you so much…" 🖤 #UFCAuckland pic.twitter.com/eb2WJhb3Km
— UFC (@ufc) February 23, 2020
“That might be it for me,” Paul Felder told Hardy after losing the decision. “Man, I got a 4-year-old at home that misses me every time I go away like this.
“I’m not sure, man. I’ll still go back and talk to my family but it was an absolute honor to share the Octagon for 25-minutes with this son of a bitch.”
One man had to win and one had to lose. In the end, both fighters were winners in the eyes of mixed martial arts fans around the world.
