Paul Felder Outlines Two Scenarios That Could End His Retirement

Paul FelderEarlier in 2021, whilst working on the commentary panel for UFC Vegas 27, perennial lightweight contender Paul Felder announced his retirement from Mixed Martial Arts competition. Many felt that such a move had been on the cards for a while, especially following a split decision loss to Dan Hooker in 2020. After putting a lot […]

Paul Felder

Earlier in 2021, whilst working on the commentary panel for UFC Vegas 27, perennial lightweight contender Paul Felder announced his retirement from Mixed Martial Arts competition. Many felt that such a move had been on the cards for a while, especially following a split decision loss to Dan Hooker in 2020. After putting a lot of consideration into everything, Felder said that “that spark that I need to fight…it just wasn’t there anymore.” However, it now appears that that spark may have been rekindled, at least preliminarily.

Last month, Felder was talking with his colleague and co-commentator Brendan Fitzgerald, where he admitted to missing the sport and was contemplating a possible return. When speaking with MMA Junkie this week, Felder outlined those two scenarios that could draw him out of retirement and put the gloves on once again.

So, what are these two possible scenarios for Paul Felder?

“There’s two scenarios,” said Felder. “Obviously the ‘money fight’. For some reason if Conor (McGregor) just hates my guts again and wants to fight me, OK sure. I’ll throw on the old MMA gloves to get back in there to change my life and teach him a lesson, but other than that, no. The other one was – Sean Brady actually texted me the other day and he’s like, ‘Would you come back out of retirement for a fight at the Wells Fargo with all of us?’

“Now we’ve got eight Philly guys or at least close to it (in the UFC). (Andre) Petroski, the Daukaus brothers, Jeremiah Wells, (Pat) Sabatini, Brady, Bill Algeo is from the Pennsylvania area, right outside of Philly. That would be tough to turn down, but I don’t know when they’re coming back to the Wells Fargo and who would I fight – I don’t know.”

Whilst the McGregor fight would appear unlikely, the UFC returning to Philadelphia is more a question of “when” not “if.” The promotion has not been to Philadelphia since 2019. On that occasion, a Fight Night event was headlined by Justin Gaethje vs. Edson Barboza, but with the emergence of Sean Brady as a bona fide welterweight contender, that is likely to change. Following his win over Michael Chiesa earlier this month, Brady called for the UFC to return to Philly in 2022, which means Felder’s comeback scenario could actually be closer than many people think.

Obviously, as a result of his now-retired status, Felder is no longer in the USADA testing pool, and normally would be required to re-enter it, in accordance with Article 5.7.3 of the UFC Anti-Doping policy. However, because Felder has clean tests running throughout 2021 and only retired in May of this year, it is possible that the UFC would grant Felder a 6-month exemption to the written notice rule for a one-off return to the Octagon. However, Felder has made it clear that even if he does not return to the Octagon, he is entirely satisfied with his life and career. 

“It’s one of the reasons I was able to retire early,” Felder said. “I have five more fights at least physically in me, I just – it’s not there in the fire, it’s not in the belly anymore, so it was time. It’s been a great four years, and I feel like I’m just getting started with that and getting back to the acting eventually a little more as well hopefully.”

Paul Felder: Claims Of “Biased” Commentary Upsets Us

Paul Felder is getting fed up with people calling UFC commentators biased.

Felder went from being an exciting lightweight in the UFC’s ranks to one of the better commentators that the sport has to offer. He had begun his broadcast work before retir…

Paul Felder

Paul Felder is getting fed up with people calling UFC commentators biased.

Felder went from being an exciting lightweight in the UFC’s ranks to one of the better commentators that the sport has to offer. He had begun his broadcast work before retiring from the sport. During the latter stages of his career, he made it clear that while he loved the allure of competing in the Octagon, not getting beat up and cut while being cageside was a suitable replacement.

That said, he is now getting to the point where he is a bit fed up with the seemingly constant negative feedback from fans and fighters, on the commentary the UFC provides. Speaking in a recent interview with MMAJunkie, Felder expressed his pleasure with the decision to focus on the commentary work while voicing frustrations with complaints about the commentary being biased. He also stated that this was something that he and the other commentators discuss on a regular basis.

It’s been fantastic, man. I’ve met so many amazing people that have become really, really close friends of mine, too, who are not fighters. Guys that are kind of the unsung heroes of the UFC. These fighters are amazing, I was one of them myself, but it’s such a small piece of the puzzle. Production is massive… All my producers, all the guys that I work with, all the directors, the cameramen, the guys that put up the cage; I know all of these people, men and women, on such a different level. And I love it. I go out to dinner with these guys. I feel like I’m part of the organization in a whole new way now,” Felder said.

“That’s why it drives me nuts when I hear a fighter or somebody that complains about us. It really… I take it to heart. And that’s why I kinda snapped at Vettori and we had our back-and-forth. It’s because I want these guys, me and DC, and Dominick, we were one of you guys. So if they don’t like what we say or if they think we’re biased, it really does upset us, I can tell you on a personal note that we all talk about that. These are things that we think about. We wanna do justice and diligence to these men and women that are fighting in that cage.”

Paul Felder certainly makes good points about the hard work that the likes of him, Daniel Cormier, Dominick Cruz, and others put into their work on the desk. While there is certainly room for criticism, it is clear that these men try to do their best at every event and have a deep passion for the sport.

Do you believe the UFC commentating team have an issue with objectivity?

Continue Reading Paul Felder: Claims Of “Biased” Commentary Upsets Us at MMA News.

Paul Felder Would Consider Returning For Conor McGregor Fight, UFC Philadelphia Event

Paul FelderFormer UFC lightweight contender, Paul Felder has outlined two potential scenarios which would see him snap his retirement from professional mixed martial arts — including a potential promotional return to his native Philadelphia — or a future showdown with former two-weight gold holder, Conor McGregor. Felder, 17-6 as a professional, confirmed his retirement back in […]

Paul Felder

Former UFC lightweight contender, Paul Felder has outlined two potential scenarios which would see him snap his retirement from professional mixed martial arts — including a potential promotional return to his native Philadelphia — or a future showdown with former two-weight gold holder, Conor McGregor.

Felder, 17-6 as a professional, confirmed his retirement back in May during the broadcast of UFC Vegas 27 — citing his intention to concentrate on his career as an analyst and color commentator for the organization. 

However, recently, speculation began to mount regarding a potential retirement snapping return for the 23 fight professional veteran, with the Roufusport mainstay fueling that fire back in October by claiming he missed competing and fighting “tremendously.

For the first time, in a very long time since retirement, I feel like since the triathlon season has slowed and there’s not a lot of races, that I’ve really had a chance to reflect on — that it’s over, that I’m not fighting anymore, and I’ve missed it tremendously,” Paul Felder told commentators Fitzgerald and Laura Sanko. 

I’ve started hitting pads and I’ve started doing stuff — now, that’s not to say that I’m making some comeback, but I’m definitely, gonna come home and train with Sean Brady and the guys a little bit. And I wanna see how I feel after a week of Sean Brady, Jeremiah Wells, Pat Sabatini, Andre Petroski, these guys that are all Philly guys in the UFC now, kick my ass and we’ll go from there.

Felder last competed back in November of last year — replacing the withdrawing #4 ranked lightweight contender, Islam Makhachev in a UFC Vegas 14 main event bout with former champion, Rafael dos Anjos. Felder suffered a split decision loss to the Brazilian, and gained massive plaudits for his decision to replace Makhachev during fight week — as he was slated to serve in the commentary booth.

Paul Felder outlines two potential scenarios which would help entice him to make UFC return

Although a return has yet to come to fruition at the time of publication, Felder outlined two scenarios to MMA Junkie which would likely see him return — the first of which would be a showdown with McGregor.

There’s two scenarios,” Paul Felder said. “Obviously, the ‘money fight’. For some reason, if Conor [McGregor] just hates my guts again and wants to fight me, ok, sure. I’ll throw on the old MMA gloves to get back in there to change my life and teach him a lesson, but other than that, no.

The second scenario which would entice Felder to consider a return would be a return to his native Philadelphia for the UFC for an event.

“The other one was — Sean Brady actually texted me the other day and he’s like, ‘Would you come back out of retirement for a fight at the Wells Fargo with all of us?’” Paul Felder said. “Now we’ve got eight Philly guys or at least close to it [in the UFC]. [Andre] Petroski, the Daukaus brothers, Jeremiah Wells, [Pat] Sabatini, Bill Algeo is from the Pennsylvania area, right outside of Philly. That would be tough to turn down, but I don’t know when they’re coming back to the Wells Fargo and who would I fight — I don’t know.” (Transcribed by MMA Fighting)

Paul Felder: I’d Come Out Of Retirement In Two Scenarios

Former UFC lightweight contender Paul Felder has laid out two scenarios that could see him return to action inside the Octagon.

Felder announced his retirement earlier this year having built a reputation as one of the toughest and most entertaining…

Paul Felder, Dan Hooker & Paul Felder

Former UFC lightweight contender Paul Felder has laid out two scenarios that could see him return to action inside the Octagon.

Felder announced his retirement earlier this year having built a reputation as one of the toughest and most entertaining fighters on the UFC roster. Across 15 fights in the promotion, “The Irish Dragon” picked up wins over current UFC Lightweight Champion Charles Oliveira, James Vick, Edson Barboza, and Stevie Ray.

With six post-fight bonuses, Felder was always a competitor fans knew would give his all in the Octagon, something that was on full display in his final two outings. Despite falling to consecutive losses, the 37-year-old’s Fight of the Night performances across five rounds in a war against Dan Hooker and a short-notice assignment versus Rafael dos Anjos earned him the respect of everyone.

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Is Felder Getting The Itch To Return?

Despite only officially hanging up his gloves during the UFC Vegas 27 broadcast in May this year, there’s been constant talk of a possible quick comeback from the color commentator. Paul Felder even admitted he was missing active competition “tremendously” during an October episode of Dana White’s Contender Series.

In an interview with MMA News ahead of his victory over Michael Chiesa last weekend, Felder’s teammate Sean Brady further teased a comeback from the Philadelphian. The unbeaten welterweight revealed Felder was back in training and claimed he’d certainly come out of retirement for a clash with Conor McGregor.

In a recent appearance on MMA Junkie Radio, Felder confirmed Brady’s hypothesis. Admitting he could be tempted to return, “The Irish Dragon” revealed that a money fight against McGregor is one scenario that could see him trading leather once again. The other pull back to action would be a Wells Fargo event featuring the other Pennsylvania natives in the UFC.

“There’s like two scenarios. Obviously the ‘money fight’. For some reason if Conor (McGregor) just hates my guts again and wants to fight me, OK sure. I’ll throw on the old MMA gloves to get back in there to change my life and teach him a lesson, but other than that, no. The other one was – Sean Brady actually texted me the other day and he’s like, ‘Would you come back out of retirement for a fight at the Wells Fargo with all of us?’

“Now we’ve got eight Philly guys or at least close to it (in the UFC). (Andre) Petroski, the Daukaus brothers, Jeremiah Wells, (Pat) Sabatini, Brady, Bill Algeo is from the Pennsylvania area, right outside of Philly. That would be tough to turn down, but I don’t know when they’re coming back to the Wells Fargo and who would I fight – I don’t know.” (h/t MMA Junkie)

Felder also explained that he retired relatively early due to the abundance of opportunities, such as commentary, available to him outside of fighting. He even claimed that, physically, he still has up to five bouts left in his body.

“It’s one of the reasons I was able to retire early,” Felder said. “I have five more fights at least physically in me, I just – it’s not there in the fire, it’s not in the belly anymore, so it was time. It’s been a great four years, and I feel like I’m just getting started with that and getting back to the acting eventually a little more as well hopefully.”

Would you like to see Paul Felder come out of retirement?

Continue Reading Paul Felder: I’d Come Out Of Retirement In Two Scenarios at MMA News.

Quote: Felder Would Come Back For McGregor Fight

UFC welterweight contender Sean Brady has suggested former lightweight Paul Felder is getting the itch to come out of retirement, and would certainly do so for a fight against MMA’s biggest superstar Conor McGregor.

During his career, Felder built …

Conor McGregor, Paul Felder

UFC welterweight contender Sean Brady has suggested former lightweight Paul Felder is getting the itch to come out of retirement, and would certainly do so for a fight against MMA’s biggest superstar Conor McGregor.

During his career, Felder built a reputation as one of the most entertaining and thrilling men on the UFC roster. The perennial contender fought in wars against Dan Hooker and Edson Barboza, recorded a win over current UFC Lightweight Champion Charles Oliveira, and collected six bonuses in 15 appearances on MMA’s biggest stage.

After defeating James Vick and Barboza in 2019, Felder was looking to mount a final charge towards the title. Those aspirations came to a halt when he fell on the wrong side of a tight split decision after five rounds against “The Hangman” in New Zealand last February. Despite the competitive affair, Felder admitted he was thinking about hanging up his gloves.

Nine months later, “The Irish Dragon” showed the heart and determination that made him a fan favorite. On less than a weeks’ notice, the 37-year-old replaced the injured Islam Makhachev to main event UFC Vegas 14 against Rafael dos Anjos. After a second consecutive loss, Felder announced his retirement this year while on commentary duty for a UFC Fight Night.

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Brady Reveals Felder Is Training For A Return

Despite only being months out from his decision to officially hang up his gloves, talk of a Felder return has already surfaced. During an October episode of Dana White’s Contender Series, the veteran admitted he was missing active competition “tremendously,” and revealed he’d started hitting pads again.

Now, in an exclusive interview with MMA News, Felder’s teammate Sean Brady has said “The Irish Dragon” is ready to mount a comeback. Brady, who competes at 170 pounds, is set to face top-10 contender Michael Chiesa at UFC Vegas 43 this weekend. While discussing his preparation, the undefeated welterweight said Felder has been getting back into training.

The 28-year-old believes one fight that would certainly lure Felder back to the Octagon is a clash with former two-division champion Conor McGregor.

“He’s getting back to it… he’s gotta start scratching that itch. He’s definitely talking about getting back in the room with us, he’s back with our strength and conditioning coach. So, I’d like to see him and Conor. I know that’s a fight that would make him wanna come back. Paul’s not gonna shoot no takedowns on Conor so Conor hasn’t gotta worry about that. I know that’s a fight Paul would come back for so, who knows, we’ll see.”

Catch our exclusive interview with Sean Brady ahead of UFC Vegas 43 below:

This isn’t the first mention of a clash between McGregor and Felder. While speaking to Joe Rogan following his victory over Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 last January, the Irishman claimed that “any one of these little mouthy fools can get it, even that little fool at the desk,” who was, of course, lightweight contender Paul Felder.

That, coupled with the commentator’s suggestion that McGregor should never fight in the UFC again after the threats he made to Dustin Poirier in July, means the storyline is ready-made for a Felder vs. McGregor showdown.

How do you think a fight between Paul Felder and Conor McGregor would play out?

Continue Reading Quote: Felder Would Come Back For McGregor Fight at MMA News.

Paul Felder Hints At Fighting Return: ‘I Have Missed It Tremendously’

Paul FelderFormer UFC Lightweight turned octagon-side analyst, Paul Felder could possibly be making a comeback some time in the near future. Felder announced his retirement from the UFC back in May after his split decision loss to Rafael Dos Anjos. He took that fight against ‘RDA’ on short notice and put up a decent fight against […]

Paul Felder

Former UFC Lightweight turned octagon-side analyst, Paul Felder could possibly be making a comeback some time in the near future.

Felder announced his retirement from the UFC back in May after his split decision loss to Rafael Dos Anjos. He took that fight against ‘RDA’ on short notice and put up a decent fight against him in the main event of the card. Felder retired to put his focus into being an analyst and calling some fights as well. He has done a good job in the booth as well and fills in nicely when Joe Rogan isn’t able to call a fight, and does well next to Rogan.

At the moment, Felder is only contemplating a comeback. It has only been a few months since he hung up the gloves, but being the competitor he is, he already may want to come back. It must be tough knowing you can still fight while calling the action and still being so close to the sport.

“Truthfully, for the first time in a very long time since retirement, I feel like since the triathlon season has slowed and there’s not a lot of races, that I’ve really kind of had a chance to reflect on that it’s over, that I’m not fighting anymore,” Felder said while contemplating his return. “I have missed it tremendously. I’ve started hitting pads, I’ve started doing stuff. Now, that’s not to say that I’m making some comeback. But I’m definitely going home, I want to train with Sean Brady and the guys a little bit. I want to see how I feel after a week of training with guys like Sean Brady, Jeremiah Wells, Pat Sabatini, and Andrei Petroski — these guys that are all Philly guys in the UFC now — kicking my ass, and then we’ll go from there.” (BJPenn.com)

The Philly native may be getting those competitive juices flowing while training back at the Renzo Gracie Academy in Philadelphia. Felder currently holds a record of 9-6 inside the UFC and was at one time ranked inside the top 10 of the Lightweight division.

Do you think Paul Felder should return to fighting?