Paul Felder speaks up on Stephen A. Smith's comments about Donald Cerrone post fight against Conor McGregor
UFC lightweight Paul Felder was a part of the commentary team for UFC 246 where Conor McGregor fought and beat Donald Cerrone and made it look like a walk in the park while he was at it.
However, McGregor's performance on the night didn't please everyone. ESPN journalist Stephen A. Smith was of the view that Cerrone went down too easily against the Irishman and he didn't even try to fight back. Smith mentioned being disgusted with Cerrone's performance and claimed that 'Cowboy' folded like a cheap tent.
Smith's comments drew the ire of UFC commentator Joe Rogan, who called out the veteran journalist for making insensitive comments about Cerrone. Now Felder has spoken out on the issue and he too believes Smith crossed the line when he criticized Cerrone for his performance.
Speaking to MMA Fighting, Felder said Smith should understand the fight game before making such bold claims.
"It did bother me, and I think it bothered all of the MMA community who know who Donald Cerrone is. ‘Cowboy’ didn’t go in there to lose. I’ve trained with the guy and I’ve known the guy for years and that is not in him to go ‘oh well, I didn’t have a good night, I’m just going to go and get beat up tonight.’ For anyone who’s never trained MMA, you just don’t understand how hard this sport is.”
“That’s the only problem with other analysts coming into our sport — you’ve got to dive into it a little more and understand it. It bothered me. But I don’t want to bash the guy too bad. He’s just got to understand the sport a little more before he says such harsh things about a guy who’s a legend.”
Felder will face Dan Hooker in the headliner of UFC Auckland this weekend.