UFC Fight Night 168: Felder vs. Hooker | Event Profile, Full Results & Legacy
- Dana Black
- May 21
- 7 min read
Table of Contents
Introduction
UFC Fight Night 168: Felder vs. Hooker took place on Sunday, February 23, 2020 at Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand — broadcast live on ESPN+ as ESPN+ 26. The card drew 10,025 fans for a gate of $1,239,625. It was the third UFC event in Auckland and the first since UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Hunt in June 2017. It was the 510th UFC event in history. The main event was a five-round lightweight bout between Paul Felder and Dan Hooker.
Hooker defeated Felder by split decision (48-47, 48-47, 47-48) in front of his home country crowd. Felder’s eye was damaged in round one and affected his performance throughout the five rounds. Jimmy Crute earned Performance of the Night for an eight-takedown kimura submission of Michal Oleksiejczuk in the co-main event. Priscila Cachoeira earned Performance of the Night for a 40-second knockout. Both Hooker and Felder earned Fight of the Night.
Auckland — Hooker’s Home Stand in the Fifth
Spark Arena is Auckland’s primary indoor events venue, holding approximately 12,000. The 10,025 attendance was strong for the UFC’s third Auckland visit. Hooker was a 30-year-old New Zealand lightweight who had gone 19-8 professionally before Auckland. His Auckland appearance against Felder was commercially framed as a home-country main event: a New Zealand fighter competing for a top-15 LW ranking in front of a partisan home crowd.
Felder was a 35-year-old Philadelphia, Pennsylvania lightweight who had gone 17-4 professionally before Auckland. The matchup produced the fight card’s most commercially anticipated result: two aggressive, power-based LW fighters whose respective records in the top-15 suggested a genuinely competitive main event. Felder’s eye damage from round one added a competitive-context layer to the five-round result.
Quick Stats
📅 Date: Sunday, February 23, 2020 (3rd UFC in Auckland; first since June 2017; 510th UFC event; ESPN+ 26)
📍 Venue: Spark Arena, Auckland, New Zealand
👥 Attendance: 10,025
💰 Gate: $1,239,625
📺 Broadcast: ESPN+ 26 (ESPN+ streaming)
🏆 Main Event: Paul Felder vs. Dan Hooker — LW (5 rounds; Hooker HOME CROWD in Auckland; Felder ‘Irish Dragon’ aggressive power-based LW; FotN pre-guaranteed type matchup)
✅ Result: Hooker def. Felder via Split Decision (48-47, 48-47, 47-48) (FotN $50k each; Felder eye damaged R1; Hooker 133 sig strikes vs. Felder 110; competitive 5-round war; Hooker HOME WIN!)
Main Event: Hooker’s Split Decision Over the Irish Dragon
Felder’s eye swelled badly from round one contact and affected his approach across all five rounds: his reduced visibility on that side limited his defensive and offensive positioning. Despite the damage, Felder competed competitively through all five rounds, landing 110 significant strikes to Hooker’s 133. The split decision — two judges for Hooker, one for Felder — reflected the fight’s genuine competitive quality.
Hooker’s leg kick output — 40 of 47 attempted — produced a sustained ground game attack on Felder’s mobility that the eye damage amplified. His four minutes and 49 seconds of control time reflected his grappling attempts across the five rounds. The Auckland crowd’s home reaction to Hooker’s win was one of the card’s most atmospherically resonant individual event-night moments.
Crute’s 8-Takedown Kimura, Cachoeira’s 40-Second KO & The Card
Jimmy Crute’s kimura of Oleksiejczuk at 3:29 of round one was the Auckland card’s most technically unusual individual result: eight takedowns in less than three minutes, with Oleksiejczuk returning to standing each time, before Crute locked in the kimura that produced the submission. The kimura — an arm-lock technique requiring rotation of the shoulder joint — was applied from a ground control position after Crute’s repeated takedown cycling had exhausted Oleksiejczuk’s scramble capability. Crute’s Auckland kimura was a competitive validation after his Peruvian necktie submission loss to Misha Cirkunov at FN158 in Vancouver.
Priscila Cachoeira’s 40-second KO of Shana Dobson snapped her three-fight UFC losing streak and earned Performance of the Night. Brad Riddell’s split decision debut win over Magomed Mustafaev — 29-28, 29-28, 28-29 — introduced the 27-year-old Auckland LW to the UFC roster; his subsequent career produced nine consecutive wins and a top-five LW ranking. Yan Xiaonan’s 30-26 unanimous decision over Karolina Kowalkiewicz was the Auckland card’s most comprehensive individual SBW result, with Kowalkiewicz suffering facial injuries.
Full Results
Main Card (ESPN+)
Dan Hooker def. Paul Felder — Split Decision (48-47, 48-47, 47-48) — LW (FotN $50k each; 5 rounds; Felder eye damaged R1; Hooker 133/110 sig strikes; 4:49 control; HOME WIN in Auckland!)
Jimmy Crute def. Michał Oleksiejczuk — Submission (kimura) — R1, 3:29 — LHW (PoN $50k; 8 TAKEDOWNS before kimura; Oleksiejczuk kept getting up; Crute bounce-back from Peruvian necktie loss at Vancouver!)
Yan Xiaonan def. Karolina Kowalkiewicz — Unanimous Decision (30-26x3) — Women’s SBW (Xiaonan comprehensive 30-26 domination; Kowalkiewicz suffered facial injuries; Xiaonan building SBW career)
Marcos Rogerio de Lima def. Ben Sosoli — TKO (punches) — R1, 1:28 — HW
Brad Riddell def. Magomed Mustafaev — Split Decision (29-28x2, 28-29) — LW (RIDDELL’S UFC DEBUT WIN! Future top-5 LW contender from Auckland!)
Preliminary Card (ESPN / ESPN+)
Zubaira Tukhugov def. Kevin Aguilar — TKO (punches) — R1, 3:21 — FW
Jalin Turner def. Joshua Culibao — TKO (punches) — R2, 3:01 — LW
Jake Matthews def. Emil Meek — Unanimous Decision (29-28x3) — WW
Song Kenan def. Callan Potter — KO (punch) — R1, 2:20 — WW (Kenan KO in New Zealand; Chinese WW building career)
Kai Kara-France def. Tyson Nam — Unanimous Decision (30-27x3) — FLW (future FLW interim title challenger!)
Angela Hill def. Loma Lookboonmee — Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28x2) — Women’s SBW
Priscila Cachoeira def. Shana Dobson — KO (punch) — R1, 0:40 — Women’s FLW (PoN $50k; 40-SECOND KO; SNAPPED 3-FIGHT LOSING STREAK!)
Bonuses & Awards
🥇 Fight of the Night: Dan Hooker + Paul Felder — $50,000 each (5-round home crowd war; Felder eye damage; 243 combined sig strikes)
🥇 Performance of the Night: Jimmy Crute + Priscila Cachoeira — $50,000 each
Records & Milestones
• 510th UFC event in history.
• Brad Riddell’s Auckland debut win was the starting point for a nine-fight unbeaten UFC run.
• Crute’s eight takedowns before the kimura — an unusual individual grappling volume + submission combination result.
Legacy & Impact
Hooker’s Auckland win continued the LW career that produced a FotN war against Al Iaquinta, wins over Jim Miller and Paul Felder, and a top-five LW ranking. Riddell’s debut win launched the nine-fight unbeaten UFC run that produced wins over Magomed Mustafaev (this), Fares Ziam, Alex da Silva, and others. Yan Xiaonan’s Auckland domination of Kowalkiewicz was a step in the SBW career that produced a ranking and additional wins toward a top-five SBW position.
Kara-France’s Auckland win was a further step in the FLW career that produced the interim FLW title fight against Brandon Moreno at UFC 277 in July 2022. Crute’s Auckland kimura bounce-back win from the Vancouver Peruvian necktie loss produced subsequent LHW wins over Michal Oleksiejczuk (this), Shogun Rua, and Johnny Walker.
FAQ
What was Felder’s eye damage in round one?
Contact in round one produced swelling to Felder’s eye that significantly limited his vision on that side for the remaining four rounds. The nature of the damage was described in media coverage as a cut or bruising that caused the eye lid to swell shut. Despite the reduced visibility, Felder competed through all five rounds and was competitive enough to receive a 48-47 score from one judge. His post-fight comments addressed his respect for Hooker’s performance rather than the eye as an excuse.
What was Crute’s eight-takedown sequence?
Crute’s Australian wrestling-based grappling style had produced takedown sequences in previous UFC fights, but eight takedowns in one round against Oleksiejczuk — with Oleksiejczuk returning to standing after each — was a sustained volume performance unusual even for high-level grapplers. The kimura lock that ended the fight was applied from a top-position control sequence after the eighth successful takedown had left Oleksiejczuk in a compromised defensive position on the ground.
What was Cachoeira’s turnaround?
Cachoeira had gone 0-3 in her previous three UFC appearances before Auckland, including losses to Sijara Eubanks, Katlyn Chookagian, and Roxanne Modafferi. Her Auckland 40-second KO of Dobson snapped that losing streak and ended a combined 0-5 performance drought across both fighters on the Auckland card. Her Performance of the Night for the 40-second opening fight KO produced one of the year’s most commercially impactful individual preliminary results.
Who was Brad Riddell?
Riddell was a 27-year-old Whanganui, New Zealand lightweight making his UFC debut at Auckland. His home country appearance against Mustafaev — a 30-year-old Kyrgyz LW with previous UFC experience and a PoN KO of Rafael Fiziev at FN149 — was the debut test. Riddell’s split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) was his first UFC result. His subsequent nine-fight unbeaten UFC run established him as one of the LW division’s most technically sophisticated striking-based competitors.
What was Kai Kara-France’s position?
Kara-France was a 26-year-old Auckland, New Zealand FLW who had gone 18-7 professionally before Auckland. His Auckland win over Nam was in front of his home country crowd. His subsequent FLW career produced wins over Rogerio Bontorin, Cody Garbrandt, and others before the interim FLW title fight against Brandon Moreno at UFC 277 in July 2022 and a subsequent fight against Amir Albazi.
What was Yan Xiaonan’s dominance?
Yan was a 28-year-old Liaoning, China SBW who had gone 9-0 professionally and 3-0 in the UFC before Auckland. Her 30-26 unanimous decision over Kowalkiewicz — three judges awarded every round to Yan — was her most comprehensive individual UFC result at that point. Kowalkiewicz, a 33-year-old Bydgoszcz, Poland SBW and former title challenger, suffered facial injuries that were visible throughout the fight. Yan’s Auckland performance established her as one of the SBW division’s most technically complete active prospects.
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