Stay retired, Paul Felder
The yearning for a fighter to compete is deep and it is dangerous. Time after time we’ve seen fighters continue to fight after their prime and get beat to a pulp. Tony Ferguson. Chuck Liddell. BJ Penn. We’ve all seen legends take more than their necessary beatings in the cage. Paul Felder is considering that right now.
Stay retired, @felderpaul. pic.twitter.com/oOCjuyAtmJ
— Blaine Henry (@BlaineHenryTFL) January 15, 2024
Jim Miller vs. Paul Felder: A lot to be desired
After his win last weekend, Jim Miller proceeded to call out Matt Brown at 170 and Paul Felder at 155. Having famously fought on UFC 100 and 200, Miller plans to have one last hurrah at UFC 300. Felder then took the stage at a press conference to say that he’s considering it.
In the video above, Felder says that he knows he doesn’t have to do this. He says:
“Everyone keeps saying, ‘You’re going to regret it if you don’t do it.’ I don’t know if that’s true. Fighting is hard; it’s hard on the body, it’s stressful emotionally. So, I’m not jumping back into it. Now that I am broadcasting, I see it all the time. I see how people are weight cutting, I see how people are fight week, the anxiety, the highs and the lows. We’re celebrating Ankalaev but Johnny Walker is in the back with his nose twisted on the other side of his face. There’s a winner and a loser most times. I don’t think so. If I decide not to do it, I might look back and say, ‘Ah, I should have done that.” But I won’t hate myself. I get to do this. I get to be a professional commentator for the UFC.”
Why Paul Felder should stay retired
There a multitude of reasons for Paul Felder to stay retired. First of all is money. Many fighters don’t have post-fighting careers and need the money. Felder is a fantastic fight commentator for the UFC. He has no need to fight anymore for any monetary reasons.
Then there’s the extra damage. Felder took tough fights at the end of his career. Rafael Dos Anjos was that last fight which he took on short notice after considering retirement after his loss to Dan Hooker. He was soundly beat and called it quits. Felder admits that he’s got no path to the title. Why fight?
I understand Miller is retiring. But he’s been an active fighter whereas Felder hasn’t fought since 2020.
As much as I love the Irish Dragon and love watching his old fights, Paul Felder should stay retired.
