UFC Fight Night 168: "Felder vs Hooker" Live Play-By-Play & ResultsThe Ultimate Fighting Championship came to Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand on Sunday for UFC Fight Night 168: “Felder vs Hooker.” The event was headlined by a featured lightweight bout between rival contenders Paul “The Irish Dragon” Felder and Dan “The Hangman” Hooker.

In the light heavyweight co-main event, Jimmy “The Brute” Crute faced off against Michał “Lord” Oleksiejczuk. Former UFC title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz battled Xiaonan “Fury” Xan in a strawweight showdown. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the UFC Fight Night 168 card.

 

Dan “The Hangman” Hooker vs Paul “The Irish Dragon” Felder

Round 1:
Hooker landed a series of kicks to Felder’s lower left leg early on and he continued to chop away at the leg as the fight entered the second minute. A leg kick and a stiff jab scored for Hooker and he followed with more kicks while circling to stay outside of Felder’s range. Felder landed a solid body kick and Hooker responded with one of his own. A lead left hook stunned Hooker briefly, but he recovered quickly and continued circling. Felder landed a spinning back kick and the fighters clinched after Hooker slipped while throwing a kick. After separating, both men landed leg kicks late in the round. 10-9 Hooker.

Round 2:
Hooker continued to pick his shots with leg kicks and right hands from a distance in round two. Felder began to bleed from the nose and Hooker continued to attack his lead leg. Hooker landed a right cross and Felder immediately countered with a hard left hook. Hooker took Felder’s back on the feet and tried to jump into a standing rear-naked choke attempt. Felder moved to the fence and broke free from Hooker’s grasp. Both men landed left hooks and leg kicks and Felder followed with a spinning back kick to the body. Hooker countered a clinch attempt with a knee, but Felder cracked him with a left hook and he landed an overhand right at the bell. Close back-and-forth round. 10-9 Hooker.

Round 3:
Felder jabbed in the third round and Hooker threw occasional leg kicks. A lead left hook landed for Felder and he followed with a one-two. The fighters traded right hands and Felder landed another quick flurry, but Hooker countered with an overhand right. More leg kicks were exchanged and Hooker landed jab-cross combos. Felder walked him down with overhand punches and a spinning back kick to the body. He caught a kick from Hooker, but Hooker pulled his leg free and that led to a clinch against the cage. Another close round. 10-9 Hooker.

Round 4:
Felder attacked Hooker’s lead leg with kicks to begin the fourth round and he followed with a hard one-two. Both men landed left hooks and Felder connected with an overhand right. He landed another hard right hand and Hooker circled to the side before clinching with Felder against the cage. After breaking free, Felder landed a hard right cross and he closed in with a quick one-two soon after. Felder landed right hands and jabs as the round entered the final minute and Hooker clinched once more. Hooker landed knees and Felder countered with back elbow strikes before the bell. 10-9 Felder.

Round 5:
The final round began with Felder as the aggressor once again and he landed overhand rights while pressing forward. Felder landed a lead left hook and Hooker responded with a right. He shot in for a takedown and took Felder’s back against the cage. Felder turned into the clinch and Hooker landed two right hooks after breaking free. Felder responded with a lunging left hook and more stiff jabs. A big right hand landed for Felder and Hooker finally scored a takedown. Felder tried to scramble up, but Hooker maintained top position and briefly looked for an arm-triangle choke. The fighters scrambled up and the bout ended in a clinch. Close final round. 10-9 Felder by a slim margin.

Winner: Dan Hooker by Split Decision (48-47, 48-47, 47-48) after five rounds. He improves to 20-8-0.

 

Jimmy “The Brute” Crute vs Michał “Lord” Oleksiejczuk

Round 1:
Crute immediately took Oleksiejczuk down and he moved to his back as Oleksiejczuk stood against the cage. Crute dragged him down repeatedly and Oleksiejczuk could not stay on his feet for more than a few seconds at a time. Oleksiejczuk finally broke free from Crute’s grasp at the midway point of the round, but Crute wasted no time in taking him down once more. This time, Crute moved to mount and then to side control. He locked on a kimura and wrenched Oleksiejczuk’s left arm behind his back for the tapout win.

Winner: Jimmy Crute by Submission (Kimura) at 3:29 of round one. He improves to 11-1-0.

 

Xiaonan “Fury” Yan vs Karolina Kowalkiewicz

Round 1:
Yan started strong with kicks to the body and a right hook. Kowalkiewicz cracked her with a counter right hand, but Yan kept the pressure on with another flurry while moving forward. Both women landed uppercuts and Kowalkiewicz followed with a spinning backfist. She clinched in search of a takedown, but Yan reversed and wound up on top. Kowalkiewicz attempted an armbar from the bottom and scrambled up to her feet. Yan punched her way into a clinch against the cage, but Kowalkiewicz punched her way free. Yan closed in with punches and secured a hip toss takedown into top position. She landed punches, then stood up and kicked at Kowalkiewicz’s legs. 10-9 Yan.

Round 2:
The second round began with an exchange of kicks and Yan countered a missed spinning backfist attempt from Kowalkiewicz with a combination that opened a cut above Kowalkiewicz’s already damaged right eye. Yan pressed forward with another combination and Kowalkiewicz clinched with her against the cage. Yan briefly held top control on the ground, but she stood and allowed Kowalkiewicz to follow. Kowalkiewicz missed with another spinning backfist and Yan slammed her down. She struck from the top until the fighters returned to their feet. Kowalkiewicz walked forward with punches that mostly came up short before time expired. 10-9 Yan.

Round 3:
Yan landed a body kick and a hard right hook early in the final round. She continued to attack Kowalkiewicz’s midsection and backed her up against the cage. The fighters separated and Yan landed a right hand and a side kick to the face. She took Kowalkiewicz down, but Kowalkiewicz countered with a heel hook attempt from the bottom. The fighters exchanged hammerfists on the ground as Kowalkiewicz continued to work for the heel hook. Yan ultimately took top position and worked to pass Kowalkiewicz’s half-guard. Kowalkiewicz tried for a guillotine choke and Yan punched her way free while posturing up from the top. Yan then looked for an arm-triangle choke, but that was unsuccessful and Kowalkiewicz secured a sweep. Yan landed illegal upkicks before the bell, but they went unpunished from the referee. 10-9 Yan.

Winner: Xiaonan Yan by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26) after three rounds. She improves to 12-1-0, 1 NC.

 

Marcos Rogério “Pezão” de Lima vs Ben “Combat Wombat” Sosoli

Round 1:
Big punches were exchanged right away and de Lima scored with hard one-twos as Sosoli walked forward. More power punches and a knee landed for de Lima, who followed with a three-punch counter combo as Sosoli closed the distance. Sosoli fell to his knees and de Lima landed another hard shot on the ground before the brief bout was stopped.

Winner: Marcos Rogério de Lima by KO (Punches) at 1:28 of round one. He improves to 17-6-1.

 

Brad “Quake” Riddell vs Magomed “The Sniper” Mustafaev

Round 1:
Mustafaev opened the action with a head kick attempt and he followed with a hard body kick. Riddell dropped him with a counter right hook and dove in with more punches on the ground, but Mustafaev countered with a heel hook attempt and he used the opportunity to get back to his feet. Mustafaev took Riddell down into back control and he threw knees to Riddell’s thighs as Riddell stood up. Mustafaev landed more knees to Riddell’s legs and head and he continued to pressure him with knees and right hands against the cage. Riddell escaped from the clinch before the end of the close round. 10-9 Mustafaev despite the knockdown.

Round 2:
Riddell landed another hard right hand in round two and he followed with a lunging one-two soon after. Chopping leg kicks scored for Riddell and he continued to throw overhand rights. Mustafaev connected with a huge right hand, but Riddell appeared to be unfazed and he spun Mustafaev around with a leg kick. Both men landed powerful right hands in close and Mustafaev secured a takedown after catching a kick. Riddell stood against the cage and turned into the clinch, but Mustafaev got him down once more. He took Riddell’s back again as the fighters stood late in the round. 10-9 Mustafaev, barely.

Round 3:
The final round began with an exchange of punches and body kicks. Riddell landed a hard right hand and Mustafaev clinched. Riddell broke free and he landed a right hand. Mustafaev cut him with a spinning backfist, but Riddell secured a takedown and he struck from the top. Mustafaev stood and Riddell used a kimura to escape from the clinch. Riddell landed a hard body kick and Mustafaev shot in for a takedown. Riddell fought him off and he took top position against the base of the cage. Mustafaev drove forward for a takedown and Riddell punished him with punches to the body. The fighters stood and Riddell reversed a takedown before the bell. 10-9 Riddell.

Winner: Brad Riddell by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 8-1-0.

 

(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)