Paul Felder’s Coach Wants Him to Rematch Dan Hooker
UFC lightweight Paul Felder lost an extremely close split decision to Dan Hooker at UFC Auckland. Almost immediately after the loss, Felder was completely full of emotions. Some of the emotions told Paul that perhaps it was time for retirement. But, it didn’t take too long for “The Irish Dragon” to feel the warrior spirit and want to continue fighting. According to Felder’s coach Duke Roufus, fans could expect to see Felder back in the cage soon. Also according to Roufus, his next fight could be a rematch against Hooker.
Roufus on Felder vs Hooker
Duke Roufus was not happy with the way that the judges scored the first bout between his fighter against Hooker. He expressed on “The Luke Thomas Show” that he is slowly losing faith in MMA judging as a whole. Then he revealed that Felder’s loss cost him to lose out on an additional $82k.
🔊 "When the judges make mistakes, they go home with the same paycheck…Paul Felder and his family lost $82,000 because of the judges."- @coachdukeroufus discusses the problems with MMA judging@lthomasnews
Hear the full interview on the #TLTS Podcast🎧https://t.co/S0s7gsJt93 pic.twitter.com/8NAWLPTjib
— MMA on SiriusXM (@MMAonSiriusXM) February 26, 2020
Making the Rematch
Also on the show, Duke told Luke that he spoke with Dana White. During the conversation, he let Dana know that he would like Felder and Hooker to have a rematch.
“Five rounds is his jam,” Roufus said. “He actually made weight the easiest he’s ever made in his career. The fight game, it’s a love affair and like any other love affair, it breaks your heart sometimes. That one was a heartbreaker but what does not kill us makes us stronger, and we’ll be stronger.
“I did text Dana White after the fight and I haven’t heard an answer-back, but I asked him I said ‘let’s run this back how about Dublin, August 15,’” Roufus added, calling for a Felder vs. Hooker rematch. “That’d be a hell of a main event in Dublin on fight night out there. I think this one deserves a rematch.”
Does a rematch between Felder and Hooker make sense? Dan made it clear that he would like to face Justin Gaethje next. Regardless of whoever is next for either man, it’s nice to see Felder back in the spirit of wanting to fight.
