UFC star Paul Felder shares terrible health news that could end his new triathlon career - "I have the hips of an 80-year-old man"

Paul Felder announced his retirement from MMA in 2021 whilst on UFC commentary duty. The 39-year-old recently shared concerning news about his health caused by years of rigorous workouts.

'The Irish Dragon' claims to have been dealing with hip issues for a while now which recently turned severe after a long run and bike session. Subsequent MRI revealed that Felder has a scarcity of soft tissue in his hips leading to direct friction between bones.

The former UFC lightweight is currently unsure about further treatment plans. Felder wrote on Instagram:

"Some bad news this week. Anyone close to me knows that I’ve had some hip issues for years. I have been kicking/doing martial arts since I was a 12 year old boy and all of that kicking and rotating has taken a big toll. After a hard bike and run this week I woke up in some serious discomfort, had livery little range of motion in my right hip. I reached out to Heather and Dr D with the ufc to help set up an mri (finally) long story short"

He added:

"I have the hips of an 80 year old man. I have no soft tissue left and am grinding bone on bone. I don’t know what’s next! I have to speak with some specialists and find out. I am pretty sure my season of racing is over. I just truly hope this ain’t the end. For now time to focus on family time and work!"

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Paul Felder didn't drag out his retirement

Paul Felder was positioned well on the UFC lightweight ladder and coming off consecutive 'FOTN' decision losses when he quickly hung up his gloves at 37 years of age.

Felder had no hopes of making a title run and didn't want to stretch out his impending retirement, unlike the likes of Donald Cerrone or Jacare Souza. 'The Irish Dragon' said during the UFC Fight Night 188 post-fight news conference:

“I don’t think I’m going to get to the belt. I think this is the first time when I finally think after those two losses in a row, watching guys like ‘Jacare’ break their arm, watching guys like ‘Cowboy’ fight five more fights passed when I think they should, and I’m like, ‘I’m not going to be that guy.’"

Catch Paul Felder's comments below: