Former referee and current Bellator color commentator “Big” John McCarthy doesn’t believe Dan Hooker’s win over Paul Felder was a robbery.
This past Saturday night (Feb. 22), Hooker and Felder collided in the main event of UFC Auckland. Both men put on a show as expected for five rounds. In the end, it was Hooker who nabbed the split decision win. Despite it being a close fight, some fans threw accusations of home cooking the judges’ way.
“Big” John Disagrees With Robbery Cries For Hooker vs. Felder
On the latest edition of the Weighing In podcast, McCarthy explained to co-host Josh Thomson why he felt there was no robbery at the conclusion of Hooker vs. Felder (via BJPenn.com).
“You look and you go, ‘Eh, it’s close.’ It’s not a robbery either way. I can understand why Paul Felder says, ‘I think I won.’ I can understand why Dan Hooker says, ‘I think I won.’ It was a good fight, they both fought their asses off.”
McCarthy went on to say that Felder landed the harder shots in the final round. He also wasn’t impressed by Hooker’s activity when he took Felder down in the final frame. “Big” John is known for criticizing fighters who are inactive in top control and don’t show much in the way of strikes or transitions to work for a submission or mount.
With the victory, Hooker could be due for a bout with a top-five UFC lightweight. “The Hangman” has now won three bouts in a row. He holds the number five spot in the official UFC 155-pound rankings.
As for Felder, he drops to 17-5. It’s “The Irish Dragon’s” first defeat since July 2018. Felder had won two in a row after dropping a split decision to Mike Perry.
How did you score the fight between Dan Hooker and Paul Felder?
