5 things you didn't know about UFC lightweight Paul Felder
Paul Felder has stepped in to fight former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos at UFC Vegas 14 on less than a week's notice. Dos Anjos was originally scheduled to face Islam Makhachev, but the latter had to withdraw from the bout because of a staph infection.
With only five days remaining, Paul Felder was offered the fight, and 'The Irish Dragon' took it.
Paul Felder later told Ariel Helwani on his MMA Show that he was supposed to be present at the event on this Saturday night any way, but in a different capacity. Ever since his last bout in UFC against Dan Hooker in February, Paul Felder has been doing commentary gigs, and he was scheduled to be a color analyst at UFC Apex on November 14. He was also set to appear in the same role for Dana White's Contender Series on Tuesday.
But plans have changed now, and both UFC and his opponent Rafael dos Anjos are glad that he took up the fight on such short notice.
Felder said in the same interview that he hoped UFC would find his replacement as a commentator and analyst for the said events as well as allotting hospital days for him to recover from the fight and any injuries he might sustain.
As Paul Felder prepares himself to make weight ahead of the Friday weigh-ins, let's take a look at five lesser-known things about 'The Irish Dragon' that you probably were not aware of.
#5 Paul Felder started out with MMA at a really early age
Paul Felder was in his early teens when he took up mixed martial arts. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Felder started training in Tae Kwon Do and Karate at Zhang Sah Martial Arts when he was only 12.
Felder was inspired to take up fighting by his cousin Niko Portillo, with whom he competed in tournaments. Together they took part in the AAU Junior Olympic Games for Tae Kwon Do.
Felder now holds a second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and a black belt in Karate as well. He also has a black belt in Shotokan and a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Daniel Gracie.
However, he started out professionally quite late, and came over to UFC even later. His first professional bout was in 2011 at Cage Fury Fighting Championships, as were most other fights of his early career.
Paul Felder signed with UFC in 2014 and made his debut in a winning effort against Jason Saggo.