Paul Felder signs new contract with UFC ahead of Dan Hooker fight

UFC lightweight contender Paul Felder has signed a new contract with the UFC ahead of his fight against Dan Hooker in New Zealand.

It was revealed this week that Felder will be taking on Hooker in the main event of UFC Fight Night 169. The event is set to take place on February 22 at Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. According to a new report from MMAFighting.com’s Damon Martin, Felder has officially signed a new contract with the UFC as part of taking the fight with Hooker.

Felder himself first revealed the news on his Twitter.

New contract. Main event. Cheers! See you soon New Zealand 🇳🇿! #mainevent #LFG #PHILLY pic.twitter.com/d212UO4ler

— Paul Felder (@felderpaul) December 2, 2019

“New contract. Main event. Cheers! See you soon New Zealand! #mainevent #LFG #PHILLY”

Felder’s manager Brian Butler of Suckerpunch Entertainment additionally confirmed that Felder has signed a new multi-fight contract with the promotion, one that presumably guarantees him a pay raise.

It’s a well-deserved contract extension for Felder, who has transformed into one of the best lightweights in the world. Felder has a 17-4 record as a pro including a 9-4 record in the UFC. He is currently riding a two-fight win streak that includes a huge split decision win over rival Edson Barboza in his last fight with a decision win over James Vick prior to that.

Felder has actually won five of his last six fights overall, including five straight wins in lightweight fights. His lone loss since 2016 came to Mike Perry in a welterweight bout in the summer of 2018. Otherwise, Felder hasn’t lost a fight in his own weight class in the last three years.

In the stacked UFC lightweight division, the Felder vs. Hooker fight could catapult the winner towards title contention. The fact the UFC is giving both men the responsibility of headlining an entire fight card shows how much the UFC matchmakers believe in both fighters, and the winner of this fight could very well jump into the top-five at 155lbs.

How excited are you for the Paul Felder vs. Dan Hooker fight?