UFC on ESPN+ 26: Paul Felder vs. Dan Hooker odds, picks and best bets
Paul Felder and Dan Hooker square off in a light heavyweight bout on the main card at UFC on ESPN+ 26 - also called UFC Fight Night 168 - at the Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand Saturday. The card kicks off at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Felder (17-4-0) will travel into hostile territory to take on the kiwi Hooker. The 34-year-old American, nicknamed 'The Irish Dragon', enters this bout with victories in five of the past six fights. That includes a split-decision win over Edson Barboza at UFC 242 on the Khabib-Poirier card. Felder lost just once in six fights since Sept. 24, 2016.
Hooker (20-8-0) will have the New Zealand crowd behind him, while also holding the reach and a slight height advantage. In addition, he has a 4.73 Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute advantage to 3.55 for Felder. He is slightly more accurate in landing those strikes at 44.15-43.02 percent. Toss in the fact that Hooker has a slight advantage in takedown accuracy, takedown average and submission average, and there is a lot to like about the Kiwi.
Paul Felder vs. Dan Hooker betting odds
Per BetMGM, Hooker ( -167) is being backed by the people, and for good reason. He holds the advantages in all of the key statistics, and he'll be fighting at home in front of a pro-Hooker crowd.
Take HOOKER ( -167) to win on the 2-way line, and go with NO ( -154) on the 'Will the fight go the full five rounds?' prop. I'll be looking to pair Hooker with ZHANG WEILI ( -176) on the UFC 248 card. If you have patience, and can wait to cash your ticket until March 7, Weili is going to blast Joanna Jedrzejczyk and is nice a toss-in for the parlay. We'll preview that fight in early March.
New to sports betting? A $10 2-fighter parlay on Hooker (-162) and Weili (-176) would turn a profit of $15.07.
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If you want some action on this MMA bout, place your wagers at BetMGM now. For more sports betting picks and analysis, visit SportsbookWire.com.
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