Per Haljestam-USA TODAY Sports
Paul Felder defeated Edson Barboza by controversial split decision at UFC 242 last weekend in Abu Dhabi.
Paul Felder and Edson Barboza are tied at one fight apiece, so a trilogy could make sense down the road.
Felder defeated Barboza by split decision in the UFC 242 co-main event last weekend in Abu Dhabi. It was a rematch from their first fight back in 2015, which the Brazilian won by unanimous decision. Though the rematch was razor-thin close, the decision proved to be somewhat controversial, with Felder earning a 30-27 scorecard from one judge. 13 of 16 media members on MMADecisions.com scored the fight for Barboza, who also got a 30-27 scorecard from a judge.
In a social media post Wednesday, Felder addressed the result of the fight. He recognized how close the bout was, but said “numbers don’t lie.”
“It was a war,” Felder wrote on Instagram. “A close fight between two skilled people that wanted to finish each other. … I walked him down the entire fight, I threw at him the entire fight, I never stalled the entire fight, if he landed, I landed… the entire fight. When he took me down, he took the damage… the entire fight. I never gassed or slowed my pace the entire fight. I got cut due to a head butt, Edson got cut due to strikes.”
Felder, who moved up to No. 7 in the UFC lightweight rankings with the win over Barboza, said he is open to a third fight with Barboza, but only if it is scheduled as a five-round main event.
“If we need to run it back I would be happy to, but this trilogy needs to be 5 rounds because someone was about to break and that someone was not me,” Felder wrote. “If the fans and Edson need a clear ending to this then it’s main event or bust.”