Ufc Felder
Rafael dos Anjos is back in championship form.
The former UFC lightweight titleholder returned to his longtime division Saturday and was brilliant in beating Paul Felder via split decision (47-48, 50-45, 50-45) in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas. Dos Anjos showed a well-rounded game, doing damage on the feet -- Felder was a bloody mess by the end -- and grinding things out against the fence, as well as on the ground.
Felder was supposed to be a color commentator on the ESPN+ broadcast for this card. But dos Anjos' original opponent, Islam Makhachev, withdrew due to an undisclosed injury last Sunday. Felder agreed Monday to step in on just five days' notice. Coming in, ESPN had Felder ranked No. 6 in the world at lightweight.
'I was training for a wrestler, a southpaw wrestler,' dos Anjos said. 'And Paul Felder is an orthodox striker. Very technical. Strong guy. But we had to make the show happen.'
Nov 10, 2020 Top UFC lightweight contender Paul Felder was praised by the MMA community on Monday after it was announced that he was stepping in on five days notice to fight former lightweight champion Rafael. Jan 14, 2021 Felder (17-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) said he received countless messages questioning if he’s part of the plan but verified on Thursday that it’s not him – despite his hopes otherwise. “I’ve had so many.
Judges Sal D'Amato and Derek Cleary scored all five rounds for dos Anjos. Judge Chris Lee dissented. He scored the second, third and fourth for Felder.
In his postfight interview, dos Anjos called out Conor McGregor; that fight that was supposed to happen in 2016 before dos Anjos got injured. Dos Anjos said if UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is truly retired now, a bout with McGregor makes the most sense.
'I want to face whoever is on the line for that belt,' dos Anjos said. 'I know I've got a lot in me still. At 36 years old, tonight was my 30th UFC appearance. I think if Khabib is really retired, it will leave the division wide open. If you look at the contenders, only me and Conor, we are the only real [former] champions in that division. ... If the division is open, I think me and Conor is the fight to make.'
Six months ago, dos Anjos decided to move back down from welterweight to lightweight. He moved back to his native Brazil for training camp and worked with the prestigious Nova Uniao camp in Rio de Janeiro. Dos Anjos dedicated himself to dropping the pounds, staying strict with his diet and using the nutritionist of former featherweight champion and legend Jose Aldo.
Dos Anjos vs. Makhachev was initially scheduled for UFC 254 last month, but dos Anjos and his entire family -- including his wife, children and mother -- tested positive for COVID-19. His wife, Cristiane, had to be admitted to the hospital. All are healthy now, but there were moments of trepidation over the past few weeks.
'It's been a crazy roller coaster this camp,' dos Anjos said.
Meanwhile, Felder had to cut a significant amount of extra weight beginning Monday to make weight Friday morning, which he did successfully. He said after Saturday's fight that he weighed 178 pounds Monday, meaning he cut more than 22 pounds of weight in five days to come in at 155.75 pounds in Las Vegas.
'Thursday night was probably one of the darkest nights of my life, cutting that weight,' Felder said in his postfight interview.
While Felder had been training for a triathlon, he admitted that he did almost no MMA training recently.
'I was in really good cardio shape,' Felder said. '... I had not stepped foot in an MMA gym in four months. That was based on pure endurance training and pad work.'
Felder looked slick and fast on the feet throughout. He cut dos Anjos with a punch in the first and let loose with solid combinations in every round. But the mix of powerful striking, clinch work and takedowns earned dos Anjos the victory. In the fourth, dos Anjos opened a cut over Felder's right eye with a jab. Felder was pouring blood the rest of the way.
'He's tough as nails,' dos Anjos said. 'It's really hard to fight a guy when, like he said, he had nothing to lose. It's really hard to fight the guys with that mindset. I had a lot on the line and he came strong. ... He kept pushing. He has a big heart.'
The card took place in front of no fans at the UFC Apex, a venue across from the UFC's Vegas corporate campus.
Dos Anjos (30-13) had spent three years at welterweight prior to this bout. He had lost four of his past five fights coming in, all against welterweight contenders. Dos Anjos held the UFC lightweight title in 2015 and 2016. He has vowed to get there again during this latest run at 155 pounds -- and Saturday was a great start.
Felder (17-6) dropped a split decision to Dan Hooker in his last bout in February. Before that, the Philadelphia native had won five of six. Felder, 35, is known as one of the most exciting fighters in the lightweight division. He had been contemplating retirement after the Hooker loss, saying he wanted to come back only for fights that enticed him. Those retirement thoughts are no more, Felder said.
'I can tell you guys with certainty: I'm not going anywhere right now,' Felder said.
When this week started, Paul Felder didn’t know if he’d ever step foot inside the UFC octagon again – but Saturday, he’ll do just that.
Accepting a five-round fight against a former UFC lightweight champion on five days’ notice isn’t common among MMA fighters. However, Felder (17-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) will step in to meet Rafael dos Anjos in the UFC Fight Night 182 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas – a bout he accepted Monday after Islam Makhachev’s withdrawal.
“I thought about it, and I decided with everything going on in the world and all the sad things going on in people’s lives and losing their jobs and suffering, and we just lost Alex freaking Trebek to pancreatic cancer, I was like, ‘Man, you know you’re still 36. You’re young. You’re in shape. Save the date. Let’s go get paid. Let’s have fun. You’re fighting a legend,'” Felder said in an interview with ESPN late Monday night. “What do I have to lose?”
The timing couldn’t have been better for Felder. Usually walking around near 200 pounds, Felder slimmed down in recent weeks in preparation for an upcoming triathlon. While he’s not in lightweight territory quite yet, Felder revealed he has to cut between 14 and 23 pounds before Friday’s official weigh-ins.
“I’m well under (180),” Felder said. “I’m in the (170s). I’ll give you that. I’m in the 70s. With some time and water-loading and dehydration, I’ll be fine.”
So why not take a catchweight? Both Felder and dos Anjos (30-13 MMA, 18-11 UFC) have competed at welterweight in the past, though they reside mostly at 155 pounds. According to Felder, dos Anjos was focused on making his mark at lightweight and made it a set-in-stone stipulation the fight would take place there.
“I think he really wants to be fighting the top guys at 155 to make his comeback and give himself a chance,” Felder said. “Obviously, we talked about catchweights. But I know with main events, if possible, they like to keep it at the weight class. That was one of the things: ‘Do you think you can make it?’ It’s not going to be fun, but I’m going to make it.”
Unlike many other last-minute main event changes, Felder vs. dos Anjos remains a five-round fight. Felder indicated he was enthused by the decision to keep the fight scheduled for the full 25 minutes.
“I like five-round fights,” Felder said. “If you’re going to do a main event, I want to do it right. That’s what he’s been scheduled to do. Yeah, five rounds. I’m excited to do another five rounds, especially with somebody like RDA. This is an experience. We’re going to see. My brain is fresh. My body is fresh. I’m not taking beatings in sparring like I normally do, but I’m still staying technically sharp and staying very fit, so we’ll see.”
Having openly contemplated MMA retirement recently, Felder views the fight as a no-lose situation. The opportunity to further his brand is there, should he win, and the risk – should he lose – is low.
“I know I’m nearing the end of my career soon,” Felder said. “This, I think it’s win-win for me because if I go in there and I can finish and beat RDA, a former champ, then it gives me a lot of selling points to be getting these bigger fights, which seem to be eluding me at the top five of the lightweight division here in the UFC. How do you not give me something big after this if I go in there after stepping up? And, if it doesn’t go my way, then I saved the day. I’m going in there to try to win, so we’ll see.”
Still, Felder said there’s a greater chance he retires with a victory than a loss. A win allows him to sail off into the sunset, whereas a loss will reinvigorate his need to prove himself.
Ufc Felder Vs Dos Anjos
“I say 50-50 (this is my last fight),” Felder said. “I was thinking about that. What a way to just be like, ‘Boom. Mic drop.’ So, yeah, (the odds of retirement) probably do increase (if I win). If I lose, then I might want to have to get back in there for one more. It might eat away at me just like the (Dan) Hooker fight did. I was ready to move on and then it’s like, you still haven’t proven quite what I’m capable of.”
Ufc Felder Vs Dos Anjos Payout
UFC Fight Night 182 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and streams on ESPN+.