Kiwi Dan 'The Hangman' Hooker has been confirmed to headline UFC's return to New Zealand next February, facing American Paul Felder.
Last month, Hooker dominated American Al Iaquinta by unanimous decision on the undercard of UFC 243 last month in Melbourne, where City Kickboxing teammate Israel Adesanya lifted the middleweight title from Aussie Robert Whittaker.
Immediately after his victory, the Auckland lightweight called out American Dustin Poirier, ranked second in the division, for his next fight, even offering a donation to his Good Fight Foundation charity.
He's missed out on that match-up, but achieved the next best thing at UFC Fight Night on February 23 at Auckland's Spark Arena - a bout against a rival ranked ahead of him, offering a chance to leap-frog up the ratings.
Philadelphia native Felder - known as 'The Irish Dragon' - boasts a 17-4 record, including his most recent success against Brazilian Edson Barboza in September. That contest resulted in a controversial decision, with many pundits actually scoring it in Barboza's favour.
Hooker (20 wins, eight losses) fought on the undercard last time Ultimate Fighting Championship visited Auckland - the 2017 showdown between Kiwi legend Mark Hunt and American Derrick Lewis. On that occasion, Hooker knocked out Englishman Ross Pearson with a knee strike in the second round.
"New Zealand is a hot market for UFC, led by the success of a new unified champion Israel Adesanya, but also the likes of Dan Hooker and Kai Kara-France," says David Shaw, UFC's international and content senior vice president.
"Our Kiwi fans are some of the most passionate in the world and we can't wait to put on a great show for them."
'Fight Night' is the promotion's second tier of competition, below full pay-per-view status.
Also confirmed for the fight card are:
Australian Tyson Pedro v Brazil's Vinicius 'Mamute' Moreira - light heavyweight
Australian Jake 'The Celtic Kid' Matthews v Norwegian Emil 'Valhalla' Meek - welterweight
Australian Ben 'Combat Wombat' Sosoli v Brazilian Marcos Rogerio 'Pezao' de Lima - heavyweight
Tickets go on sale Friday, December 6.
