UFC News: Paul Felder plans to knock out Dan Hooker in front of his friends and family in Auckland

Paul Felder is on the rise in the UFC Lightweight division. While he would have likely preferred a higher-ranked opponent, he knows that it has to work both ways. So he chose to get the headlining spot in Auckland, New Zealand to take on Dan Hooker.

However, there's only a single-rank gap between the two and things are going to get heated once they get locked inside the Octagon this coming February. Speaking to MMA Junkie, Felder said:

“I’m invading into his country. My whole plan is to knock his ass out in front of all his friends and family and take that money and get out of there and go on to a title shot.”

He said that it was either going to be a higher-ranked opponent or a main event slot:

“I either wanted a really high ranked opponent or I wanted a main event,” Felder said. “I made that really clear to my manager, to Sean Shelby, to Dana White that, ‘Look, this is what I want.’

He said that Dana White seemed a bit reluctant to give him that opportunity, which came as a bit of a surprise to him. He continued:

They finally trusted me, they gave me that opportunity and they gave me that shot. That’s what I want. I didn’t care that Dan’s the one ranked behind me, that stuff doesn’t matter. He’s been on an absolute killing streak right now. So if I take him out, that just sets me up for one more fight potentially until fighting for the belt.”

It's hard to imagine Felder getting a title shot immediately even if he gets a spectacular finish against Hooker. It most likely will set him up to face a higher-ranked contender such as Dustin Poirier and that would be a win that gives him the opportunity. As of now, Tony Ferguson and then Justin Gaethje are in line for a title shot, so it's unlikely that he would get a shot at the gold just yet.