Streaking lightweight Paul Felder will not face Jim Miller this April at UFC on Fox 15. Another streaking lightweight—Beneil Dariush—will take his place.
Felder sustained a knee injury and will not be able to compete. UFC officials announced the change Friday, according to a report from Jason Floyd of The MMA Report.
The 30-year-old Felder (10-0) gained national notoriety with a second-round spinning backfist knockout of Danny Castillo at UFC 182 this January. That flashy bit of destruction earned him a Performance of the Night bonus. It was his second win in as many attempts inside the UFC Octagon.
A native of Philadelphia, Felder spends part of his training time with Donald Cerrone, Pat Healy and others at Cerrone‘s BMF Ranch in New Mexico, which is generally associated with the nearby Jackson-Winkeljohn camp.
This is how you should feel after 6 hard rounds. @Cowboycerrone #bmfranch #UFC #april18 #ShockTheWorld pic.twitter.com/LUS2sMBBHn
— Paul Felder (@felderpaul) March 25, 2015
The recent career arc of the 25-year-old Dariush (10-1) tells a similar story. A winner of three straight and four of his five UFC contests, a second-round submission of Daron Cruickshank at UFC 185 netted Dariush his first performance bonus and considerably raised his stock. A jiu-jitsu black belt, the Iran-born Dariush has six professional MMA wins by way of submission.
Miller (24-5-1) has established himself as a steady presence in the UFC lightweight division. The 31-year-old New Jersey native is a strong, solid grappler with a penchant for high-energy, crowd-pleasing scraps. Miller is looking to rebound from a loss last July to Cerrone, which came via head kick and punches in the second round.
Miller and Dariush could be an interesting grappling battle, with both men showing strength and creativity in ground exchanges. The two men have 19 submission wins between them.
There was no immediate word on the specific nature of Felder‘s injury or how much time he might miss.
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