On this day in 2019, a current UFC commentator got his hand raised inside the Octagon for the last time.
Ilia Topuria has recently been accused by Islam Makhachev of ducking the contender that many believe will be his toughest test at 155 pounds.
The UFC’s lightweight division has been stacked with top talent, fan favorites and some of the roster’s biggest stars for years at this stage.
At UFC 242, a fighter that was known for always delivering inside the Octagon looked to finally take a huge step in his career.
On the same night that Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Dustin Poirier, a new contender staked his claim as a serious contender.
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Paul Felder defeated Edson Barboza to finally break into the lightweight elite
Paul Felder may not have gotten the credit he deserved during his career for being a fighter that always put on entertaining bouts inside the Octagon.
Having suffered several setbacks in the past whenever he started to build some momentum, on this day in 2019, he finally got the opportunity to take out a staple of the division to prove that he belonged with the best.
UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi saw ‘The Irish Dragon’ run it back with Edson Barboza in the co-main event.
Barboza had won a unanimous decision the first time that they met in 2015, with one of Felder’s lasting memories of the fight being the injuries that he had to deal with in the aftermath.
Felder revealed on an episode of MMA Fighting’s Eurobash podcast that he had blood in his urine days after being on the wrong end of a kick that landed low.
Unsurprisingly, their rematch was another back-and-forth battle that came right down to the wire after both men combined for a total of 116 significant strikes landed.
Felder got his hand raised via a controversial split decision and went on to call out the fighters that were ranked above him in his post-fight interview.
“All you top five guys out there, you can’t run no more. Come in here and get some… I don’t care who you are. I’m only in here to be in here with the best, otherwise, I’m gonna retire and become a commentator or an actor. I don’t have to do this.”
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Paul Felder initially announced his retirement following his next fight
As Paul Felder stated at UFC 242, he no longer needed to fight after already lining up a career as a commentator for the promotion.
He got his wish to fight a top contender next time out, as ‘The Irish Dragon’ headed to New Zealand to face off with Dan Hooker.
Felder and Hooker put on a war that led to the travelling fighter speaking about his retirement inside the Octagon having come to the realization that if he couldn’t beat the best, he didn’t want to put his career before his family and health.
Felder did briefly come out of retirement later in 2020 for a short notice fight against Rafael dos Anjos, which he lost via a split decision.