Belal Muhammad says fighter-turned-commentator Paul Felder still has the itch to fight and would return for a bout if offered. Ahead of UFC San Diego, Belal Muhammad gave a quick interview with The Schmo. The Schmo’s interrogation led to a questi…
Belal Muhammad says fighter-turned-commentator Paul Felder still has the itch to fight and would return for a bout if offered. Ahead of UFC San Diego, Belal Muhammad gave a quick interview with The Schmo. The Schmo’s interrogation led to a question about Paul Felder, with Muhammad relaying a compelling answer. According to the #5 ranked…
Charles Oliveira has had incredible success since being the man at the top of the lightweight division. After defeating Michael Chandler, Dustin Poirier, and Justin Gaethje it’s difficult to assess who will be the next contender to end his notable 11-fight-win-streak. With many being under the impression that Islam Makhachev will be the lightweight contender […]
Charles Oliveira has had incredible success since being the man at the top of the lightweight division. After defeating Michael Chandler, Dustin Poirier, and Justin Gaethje it’s difficult to assess who will be the next contender to end his notable 11-fight-win-streak.
With many being under the impression that Islam Makhachev will be the lightweight contender to defeat the Brazillian, Paul Felder is banking on Beneil Dariush to be the one to cause Oliveira problems.
The former contender-turned-analyst thinks the aggressive Dagestan wrestling will play into Oliveira’s favor, with the Jiu-jitsu specialist being comfortable on his back.
Darius was scheduled to face Makhachev earlier this year in a bout that would solidify either competitor as the next in line to challenge for lightweight gold. Unfortunately, Dariush was forced to withdraw due to injury.
Makhachev ended up fighting Bobby Green, which saw the Russian win with ease and continues to make his voice heard of earning the next shot at Oliveira. Since then, Oliveira has been stripped of his title after missing weight at UFC 274 prior to his clash with Justin Gaethje.
Paul Felder Talks Lightweight Division
Felder backed up why he felt Dariush would cause more issues to Oliveira than Makhachev.
‘I am retired, so it can’t be me, but dare I say someone like Beneil Dariush is more of a threat to [Charles Oliveira’s] particular style,’ Felder explained on The Fighter vs. The Writer.
“Because — and vice versa, I said the same thing when Khabib [Nurmagomedov] was still around — I always said that I thought Charles would be one of the bigger threats to him because of his style and the way he grapples and accepts bottom position but is so dangerous from there.”
Paul Felder is stepping out of the cage and into a new competition. After a long and successful MMA career “The Irish Dragon” Paul Felder has retired from the sport. He announced that he would be stepping away from the fighting side of MMA while on commentary for the UFC Vegas 27 event in March…
Although Felder is no longer fighting, his competitive nature hasn’t left him. He is now focusing his time and effort on training and competing in triathlons.
For those who don’t know, triathlons are races consisting of three disciplines, running, biking and swimming. There are different milage and some can be very long. Felder was shown in the first episode of the series jumping in with both feet as he signed up for his first race, a 70 miler called the IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside.
During his UFC career, Felder was known for his striking and endurance. He spoke about how he began running and biking to improve his cardio for fighting and now has upped his training for this new kind of challenge.
Felder has a goal to be the winner of his age group in a race one day. He joked during the show that his days of kicking have set him up nicely for the bike and running but needs to get the swimming portion of his race game up to snuff.
Big news today, as up-and-coming lightweight star Rafael Fiziev has been forced to pull out of his fight against Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC 272 due to the COVID-19 virus. The fight was originally slated to main event UFC Vegas 48 but was pushed back because of VISA issues Fiziev had. Now, it’s officially off, […]
Big news today, as up-and-coming lightweight star Rafael Fiziev has been forced to pull out of his fight against Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC 272 due to the COVID-19 virus.
The fight was originally slated to main event UFC Vegas 48 but was pushed back because of VISA issues Fiziev had.
Now, it’s officially off, and the MMA world is buzzing to see who steps up to replace him.
The news was originally reported on Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour, and it’s sparked the interest of a ton of top names in the 155lbs division.
Rafael Fiziev Out, But Who Steps Up to Take his Spot?
Rafael Dos Anjos is a former champion and also holds one of the most star-studded resumes in the game. A win over him could change your career, and it seems like a well-known secret with all the fighters lining up to step in.
Chief among them would probably be Islam Makhachev. This young Dagestani killer just brutalized Bobby Green in the main event of UFC Vegas 49 but seems to realize another big win could be all he needs to solidify a title shot.
“170 ??? Let’s do it. We have unfinished business RDA @ufc @espnmma @bokamotoESPN @MMAjunkieJohn” Makhahev said on Twitter.
Not only has Makhachev wanted to step up, but names like Paul Felder and Renato Moicano have also voiced their willingness.
“I wonder if the course of the dragon still holds true with an immediate rematch? 174” Felder said. “How many days this time?” He added, referring to his and RDA’s last fight, which was also on very short notice.
Moicano went the video route, recording a short one saying: “Let’s go, Moicano want big money!” He’s coming off a big win over Alexander Hernandez at UFC 271 and is currently riding a two-fight win streak.
Who do you think the UFC will choose to replace Rafael Fiziev? Leave your predictions down in the comments below!
UFC light heavyweight contender Aleksandar Raki? took a subtle dig at former UFC fighter turned commentator Paul Felder on Twitter.
Raki? is set to face former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz later this year in his return to the Octagon. …
UFC light heavyweight contender Aleksandar Raki? took a subtle dig at former UFC fighter turned commentator Paul Felder on Twitter.
Raki? is set to face former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz later this year in his return to the Octagon. He most recently defeated Thiago Santos and Anthony Smith in a pair of massive light heavyweight wins.
Raki? has never been afraid to speak his mind, especially when it comes to the UFC commentary team and their supposed bias. He most recently took a shot at Daniel Cormier after Dominick Cruz criticized his fight commentary leading up to UFC 269.
Paul Felder Responds To Aleksandar Rakic’s Apparent Jab
“Just say what you gotta say,” Felder said. “Is this a third-grade crush? Tell me you don’t like my commentary and I’ll tell you some of your fights suck.”
In a series of since-deleted tweets, Raki? said he tends to mute the UFC broadcasts when commentators such as Felder are at the desk. Felder took exception to this and even responded to Rakic in the middle of a fight card.
Raki? has emerged as one of the more outspoken light heavyweight contenders, as evidenced by his recent back-and-forths with Ji?í Procházka. Raki? could get the next 205-pound title shot with another impressive win in the Octagon.
Felder also has a history of not letting trolls and critics go unchallenged. He’s notorious for putting harsh critics of his commentary on blast and often engages in Twitter back-and-forths.
What are your thoughts on the UFC commentary team?
After rebounding with a main event victory over a Dan Hooker in 2020, a bout awarded the Fight of the Night honours and widely considered a Fight of the Year contender, Poirier re-visited his rivalry with a certain “Notorious” Irishman in 2021.
Having leveled the score in the feud by becoming the first man to knock McGregor out at UFC 257, Poirier was seemingly in line for a shot at the vacant belt. Instead, he chose another money fight with the former two-division champion, one that ended with trilogy glory for the Louisianan.
But while most expected him to close out a spectacular year with title success, the formidable underdog presence of champion Charles Oliveira stood in his way. In the final pay-per-view main event of the year, “Do Bronx” submitted Poirier in the third round, a heartbreaking case of déjà vu for the perennial contender.
Following his latest setback, Poirier was unsurprisingly de-motivated and deflated. He even suggested he may never fight at lightweight again and claimed no potential fight excited him anymore. However, the thought of a clash with veteran fan-favorite Nate Diaz soon brought a glimpse of motivation back for the 32-year-old.
But while both parties appeared to accept the fight for early 2022, a stall in negotiations has seemingly left Poirier back in an uncertain crossroads in his career. That’s much to the confusion of Felder, who believes the Diaz fight was a no-brainer.
“It should be done (Poirier vs. Diaz). That should have written itself right then and there after Dustin lost that fight to Charles Oliveira. He needs a fun fight… He just needs to go out there against somebody and not be worried about titles, not have the pressure. Even a Conor McGregor fight I think is too much for him right now. Just go out there against another top dog, somebody who’s been around for a while, and try to get a W, and if not, go get paid, make people see it. I think he needs a light-hearted fight, not that any of them are easy, but he needs one with no title implications on the line.”
While all parties appeared to agree a fourth Poirier vs. McGregor clash is inevitable soon after UFC 264, the Irishman certainly isn’t short of other options and looks to have his sights set on Oliveira’s lightweight gold. Apart from that, potential bouts with Michael Chandler and Max Holloway also offer intriguing possibilities for McGregor’s comeback.
For Poirier, the options aren’t as clear heading into the new year. He’s previously teased a switch to welterweight, and with his potential departure from the 155-pound division, perhaps we’ll be seeing a grudge match between “The Diamond” and his former teammate Colby Covington in the near future, although that would certainly veer away from the type of fights Felder believes Poirier should be pursuing.
Do you agree with Paul Felder? Would a fourth fight against Conor McGregor be too much for Dustin Poirier at the moment?