Paul Felder

Paul Felder
Paul Felder (cropped).jpg
Felder in 2017
BornPaul Robert Felder
(1984-04-25) April 25, 1984 (age 38)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Nickname(s)The Irish Dragon
Height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight155 lb (70 kg; 11 st 1 lb)
DivisionLightweight
Welterweight
Reach70+12 in (179 cm)
Fighting out ofPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
TeamRenzo Gracie Academy Philly (2011–present)
Nick Catone MMA (2016)
Roufusport (2016–present)
Rank2nd degree black belt in Taekwondo
Black belt in Shotokan[citation needed] Karate
Purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Daniel Gracie
Years active2011–2021
Mixed martial arts record
Total23
Wins17
By knockout10
By submission1
By decision6
Losses6
By knockout1
By decision5
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Paul Felder (born April 25, 1984) is an American retired professional mixed martial artist and color commentator for UFC. He competed in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2011, Felder also fought for the Cage Fury Fighting Championships.

Background

He is of Irish and German descent. He began training in martial arts at age 12, starting with Tae Kwon Do and Karate at Zhang Sah. Felder competed in the AAU Junior Olympic Games for Tae Kwon Do with his cousin Niko Portillo, who was the main inspiration for Felder's fighting career. Felder attended Ridley High School in Folsom, Pennsylvania and later the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, for acting, graduating in 2008.

During college, Felder began training in Muay Thai before later transitioning to mixed martial arts. Due to his karate background, he was given the nickname "The Irish Dragon", a reference to his Irish heritage and fellow karate practitioner Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida. Felder initially pushed back against the nickname, but it caught on and he stuck with it. After fellow UFC lightweight fighter Conor McGregor commented that Felder's surname was of German origin, Felder joked in January 2021 that he would use the nickname "The German Dragon" if he ever fought McGregor.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Felder compiled an amateur MMA record of 3–1 and began his professional mixed martial arts career in 2011. Felder competed entirely in his native Mid-Atlantic states, with most fights for the regional promotion Cage Fury Fighting Championships.

Felder ultimately became Lightweight Champion for the promotion, earning the title with a second-round knockout of Marc Stevens. Felder then defended his title once, with a second-round knockout of Craig Johnson, before signing with the UFC in August 2014.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Felder made his promotional debut on October 4, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 54 where he faced Jason Saggo. Felder won the fight by split decision.

Felder was briefly scheduled to face Johnny Case on January 18, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 59. However, Felder was tabbed as a replacement against Danny Castillo on January 3, 2015 at UFC 182, replacing Rustam Khabilov. Felder defeated Castillo via second-round knockout, which earned Felder a Performance of the Night award.

Felder was expected to face Jim Miller on April 18, 2015 at UFC on Fox 15. However, Felder pulled out of the fight citing a knee injury and was replaced by Beneil Dariush.

Felder faced Edson Barboza on July 25, 2015 at UFC on Fox 16, replacing an injured Myles Jury. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Both participants earned Fight of the Night honors. UFC President Dana White said afterwards that the fight "takes Felder to another level".

Felder faced Ross Pearson on September 5, 2015 at UFC 191. He lost the back-and-forth fight by a controversial split decision.

Felder faced Daron Cruickshank on January 17, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 81. He won the fight via submission in the third round.

Felder next faced Josh Burkman on May 29, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 88. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Felder faced Francisco Trinaldo on September 24, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 95. During the fight, repeated elbows from Trinaldo opened up a large, bloody cut on Felder's face. With a huge cut and blood streaming down Felder's face, the ringside physician waved the fight off at 2:25 of the third round, resulting in a TKO (doctor's stoppage) loss for Felder.

Felder faced Alessandro Ricci on February 19, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 105. He won the fight via TKO in the first round due to a combination of an elbow and punches. The win also earned Felder his second Performance of the Night bonus award.

Felder faced Stevie Ray on July 16, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 113. He won the fight by knockout in the first round after dropping Ray with a knee strike and subsequently finishing him off with a barrage of ground and pound. The win also earned Felder his third Performance of the Night bonus award.

Felder was expected to face Al Iaquinta on December 2, 2017 at UFC 218. However, Iaquinta pulled out of the fight on October 31 citing an injury and was replaced by Charles Oliveira. Felder won the fight in the second round, finishing Oliveira via TKO with a series of elbows. The bout with Iaquinta was rescheduled for UFC 223. However on the day of the weigh-ins, Max Holloway was declared unfit to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov, so Iaquinta replaced him.

Felder was scheduled to face James Vick on July 14, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 133. However, on June 27, Vick was pulled from that fight in favor of a matchup against Justin Gaethje the following month at UFC Fight Night 135. On June 28, it was announced that Felder would replace Yancy Medeiros in a Welterweight bout against Mike Perry at UFC 226 on July 7. He lost the fight via split decision.

Felder faced James Vick on February 17, 2019 at UFC on ESPN 1. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Felder faced Edson Barboza in a rematch on September 7, 2019 at UFC 242. Felder won by controversial split decision. 13 out of 16 MMA media outlets scored the bout in favor of Barboza.

As the first bout of his new, multi-fight deal Felder faced Dan Hooker on February 23, 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. Hooker. He lost the fight via a controversial split decision. 12 out of 17 media journalists scored the fight for Felder. This fight earned him a Fight of the Night award. After the fight Felder mentioned in his post-fight speech it may have been his last fight, however he confirmed in an interview with Ariel Helwani that he was not retiring, but only wants to take on fights which entice him.

In a quick turnaround, it was announced that Felder stepped in on five days notice to replace Islam Makhachev and face former UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael dos Anjos on November 14, 2020, while headlining UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. dos Anjos. Felder was originally scheduled to work the event as a color-commentator. Despite a dominant performance from dos Anjos, Felder lost the bout by split decision. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award. Subsequently, Felder signed a new, multi-fight contract with the UFC.

On May 22, 2021, while working as a commentator for the broadcast of UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Garbrandt, Felder announced his retirement from mixed martial arts competition.

Personal life

Felder has two daughters, Aisling (born 2015) and Ruby (born 2022).

Felder made his UFC color commentary debut on September 16, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 116 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He then made his UFC pay-per-view commentary debut on November 3, 2018 at UFC 230 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.

Championships and accomplishments

  • MMAJunkie.com
  • CombatPress.com
    • 2018 Broadcast Analyst of the Year
    • 2021 Broadcast Analyst of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
23 matches 17 wins 6 losses
By knockout 10 1
By submission 1 0
By decision 6 5
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 17–6 Rafael dos Anjos Decision (split) UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. dos Anjos November 14, 2020 5 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Fight of the Night.
Loss 17–5 Dan Hooker Decision (split) UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. Hooker February 23, 2020 5 5:00 Auckland, New Zealand Fight of the Night.
Win 17–4 Edson Barboza Decision (split) UFC 242 September 7, 2019 3 5:00 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Win 16–4 James Vick Decision (unanimous) UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Velasquez February 17, 2019 3 5:00 Phoenix, Arizona, United States Return to Lightweight.
Loss 15–4 Mike Perry Decision (split) UFC 226 July 7, 2018 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Welterweight debut.
Win 15–3 Charles Oliveira TKO (elbows) UFC 218 December 2, 2017 2 4:06 Detroit, Michigan, United States
Win 14–3 Stevie Ray KO (elbows) UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Ponzinibbio July 16, 2017 1 3:57 Glasgow, Scotland Performance of the Night.
Win 13–3 Alessandro Ricci TKO (elbow and punches) UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Browne February 19, 2017 1 4:44 Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada Performance of the Night.
Loss 12–3 Francisco Trinaldo TKO (doctor stoppage) UFC Fight Night: Cyborg vs. Länsberg September 24, 2016 3 2:25 Brasília, Brazil
Win 12–2 Josh Burkman Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Almeida vs. Garbrandt May 29, 2016 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 11–2 Daron Cruickshank Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Fight Night: Dillashaw vs. Cruz January 17, 2016 3 3:56 Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Loss 10–2 Ross Pearson Decision (split) UFC 191 September 5, 2015 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss 10–1 Edson Barboza Decision (unanimous) UFC on Fox: Dillashaw vs. Barão 2 July 25, 2015 3 5:00 Chicago, Illinois, United States Fight of the Night.
Win 10–0 Danny Castillo KO (spinning back fist) UFC 182 January 3, 2015 2 2:09 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Performance of the Night.
Win 9–0 Jason Saggo Decision (split) UFC Fight Night: MacDonald vs. Saffiedine October 4, 2014 3 5:00 Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Win 8–0 Craig Johnson KO (spinning heel kick) CFFC 38: Felder vs. Johnson August 9, 2014 2 3:44 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Defended the CFFC Lightweight Championship.
Win 7–0 Marc Stevens TKO (punches) CFFC 33: Felder vs. Stevens March 22, 2014 2 4:03 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Won the CFFC Lightweight Championship.
Win 6–0 Julian Lane Decision (unanimous) CFFC 28: Brenneman vs. Baker October 26, 2013 3 5:00 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win 5–0 Corey Bleaken Decision (unanimous) CFFC 24: Sullivan vs. Becker May 11, 2013 3 5:00 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win 4–0 Ricky Nuno TKO (elbows) CFFC 20: Heckman vs. Martinez February 8, 2013 1 2:15 King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, United States
Win 3–0 Khama Worthy TKO (punches) Pinnacle FC: Pittsburgh Challenge Series 1 December 29, 2012 1 1:10 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Win 2–0 Judah Ciervo TKO (doctor stoppage) XFE: Cage Wars 14 March 3, 2012 2 5:00 Chester, Pennsylvania, United States
Win 1–0 Mtume Goodrum TKO (knees) CFFC 12: Pollard vs. Soto December 10, 2011 2 2:31 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Lightweight debut.

See also


This page was last updated at 2023-03-11 06:12 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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