UFC Fighter and commentator Paul Felder has announced his retirment from MMA during the UFC Vegas 27 broadcast.
Felder explained that his choice to retire stemmed from the fact that he had lost the desire to become champion and did not want to hold up the division for other fighters.
"I'm retiring officially from the sport of mixed martial arts and from the UFC."@felderpaul has called it a career
#UFCVegas27 pic.twitter.com/QGoTXPsBKQ
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 23, 2021
“I fought some of the baddest dudes in the division and I want to thank all of them,” Felder said. “My apologies for holding up the fivision for all the guys behind me, I’m officially stepping down, its not right to hold up the division.”
“I wish I had some gloves to chuck up into the octagon but I pretty much did that in New Zealand and I pretty Much meant it back then and it’s been a struggle to get motivated to get back into the gym ever since.”
The top ten ranked lightweight last competed on short notice against Rafael Dos Anjos in November of 2020.
Previously to that loss, Felder faced Dan Hooker in the main event at UFC Aukland, New Zealand where he lost a split decision. Taking this loss, Felder first hinted at retirement claiming that he only planned to return to MMA for the right matchups.
All class. Always exciting.
Thank you so much @FelderPaul and congratulations on an amazing career
— UFC (@ufc) May 23, 2021
Felder’s UFC run was full of ups and downs with an overall record of 9 wins and 6 losses. His victories include names like the newly crowned lightweight champion Charles Oliveira and fellow veterans Edson Barboza.
His overall MMA record comes to a close at 17 wins and 6 losses.
With this announcement Felder will continue as commentary and analyst for the UFC.