Fans speculate reason behind Paul Felder's subdued reaction to Islam Makhachev submitting 'do Bronx' at UFC 280
Islam Makhachev's submission win over Charles Oliveira at UFC 280 sent the MMA world abuzz. However, eagle-eyed fans noticed that Paul Felder had a rather meek reaction.
Felder was in the commentary booth for the pay-per-view event alongside Jon Anik and Daniel Cormier. Footage from the event showed Anik and 'DC' going ballistic after Makhachev's win, but Felder noticeably remained stoic.
Watch Paul Felder's reaction in the clip below:
Think Felder wanted Charles to win? https://t.co/fTybVBQoC2
Felder's reaction led many to speculate on why he didn't appear too thrilled with Makhachev's monumental victory.
Few speculated that Felder may have lost money from betting on Oliveira. Interestingly, fighters, coaches, and cornermen were recently banned from gambling on UFC fights, but it's unclear if commentators are still allowed to.
Check out the theories Twitter users came up with below:
@SpinninBackfist Looks like Felder owes DC some money
@SpinninBackfist Are commentators allowed to place bets? Or is it just the fighters and team banned from placing bets?
@SpinninBackfist When you bet your house and reality sets in when you lose 😂
Meanwhile, others think Felder is saddened that he no longer has the claim to be the last fighter to beat Oliveira. Prior to UFC 280, Felder defeated Oliveira via TKO at UFC 218. The Brazilian would then go on to win his next 11 fights and pick up the UFC lightweight belt along the way.
One fan wrote:
"Sad he isn’t the last man to have finished Olivera anymore."
@SpinninBackfist Sad he isn’t the last man to have finished Olivera anymore
@SpinninBackfist Paul just wanted to be the last person to beat Charles — but Islam made it look easy whileas Paul was in a battle with him
Also, DC wasn’t surprised at all — he knew this would be easy for Islam. He’s said for years — until they made the match he started saying this will be hard
@SpinninBackfist The moment you realize you will never be able to say, "I beat the best lightweight in history".
@SpinninBackfist Felder was living off of him being the last guy to beat oliveira. Islam took away the last thing felder had to brag about
There are also those who believe Felder was merely trying to be professional by maintaining a neutral reaction. But, of course, commentators are encouraged to show some type of emotion as long as they don't come off as biased.
@SpinninBackfist I don't think he can interrupt Anik since he was on a roll not to mention he was shocked how abruptly Islam was able to close it out.
@SpinninBackfist It looks like they were all told to appear neutral regardless of the result, which they did. It’s the professional and right thing to do
@SpinninBackfist Paul is all of us
@SpinninBackfist No, he was shocked, he just couldn't believe that Islam won the fight so easy.
Before the fight, almost every fighter picked Charles to win, only the smart ones like Whittaker, Volk, Tsarukyan, Gamrot, Fiziev picked Islam.
@SpinninBackfist You can tell he was shocked. Felder is a pro he tries to be as non bias as possible. I thought it was funny when Belal was talking shit about Philly and Felder got pissed 😂
Paul Felder explains why Islam Makhachev's striking is underrated
Paul Felder thinks Islam Makhachev doesn't get enough credit for his striking. Primarily viewed as a dominant grappler, Makhachev displayed excellent striking skills in his championship-winning performance against Charles Oliveira.
With that in mind, Felder pointed out that Makhachev's striking initiated the fight-ending sequence. 'The Irish Dragon' said in a UFC 280 reaction video:
"This is a guy you always say, 'Oh well, his kickboxing, oh well he's not quite there.' He [Islam Makhachev] hurt Oliveira a few times. Which ended the exchange. He ended knocking him down, ended up getting on top, passing to that arm-triangle and getting that submission. But it all started with his hands which I think he just doesn't get enough credit and hopefully people will start recognizing that more."
Check out Paul Felder's comments below: