Hooker hangs

Spark Arena may be the home court of the Breakers and the stage for some of the biggest touring acts to hit New Zealand. But make no mistake, the Auckland venue is Dan Hooker’s house.

The noise was deafening as Hooker (21-8) claimed a split decision victory over Paul Felder (17-5) in a five-round war in the UFC’S return to New Zealand.

The 30-year-old had appeared in the mixed martial arts promotion’s two previous visits to the city and stole the show each time.

While there was the added pressure on this occasion as being the headline act, the result was the same. Although it was much closer than many of the local fans would have liked, as Felder pushed a relentless pace and refused to take a backward step.

There were suggestions in the commentary that Hooker may have suffered a broken jaw. However, ‘The Hangman’ bit down on the mouthpiece and surged home in the final round, which ultimately proved decisive in the eye of two judges, as he edged the result 47-48, 48-47, 48-47.

Having now won six of his last seven bouts, Hooker announced himself as a major player in the division and is expected to move into the top-five of the rankings.

And he immediately set his sights on a date with the fourthranked Justin Gaethje in his postfight interview.

The stakes were just as high for the sixth-ranked Felder but after coming agonisingly short, he indicated he could be about to hand up the gloves.

Earlier yesterday, Kai Karafrance showed he was back on track while fellow Kiwi Brad Riddell made it two from two in the UFC with another actionpacked performance.

Making his first UFC appearance on home soil, eighth-ranked flyweight Kara-france (21-7) produced a clinical, striking display to record a unanimous decision victory over Hawaiian veteran Tyson Nam (18-10-1).

Riddell (8-1) then kicked off the main card against Magomed Mustafaev (14-3), dropping the highly rated Russian early and showcasing his expert ground