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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.
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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.
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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.
#4 Paul Felder chose MMA over a career in acting
Paul Felder has a degree in acting. He graduated in acting from University of the Arts in Philadelphia in 2008 after attending Ridley High School. He has been in a number of plays back in the day, and even co-starred with actor Pearce Bunting in a 2011 production of The Lieutenant of Inishmore.
His former mentors for the stage as well as fellow thespians speak highly of him, both as an individual and as a performer.
One of his acting professors at the University, Ernest Losso, even compared him with the likes of Robert de Niro and Al Pacino. (via ESPN)
"Whenever he would do a play or whatever, he was always the most outstanding actor in the play. He has a kind of charisma, which I guess he uses in the fight game also. That's something you can't teach. That's something a person just has to have."
"I think that's an element in him -- the kind of rage that is in him -- that you see in [Al] Pacino and [Robert] De Niro and those guys. It's a kind of element that I tried to nourish, rather than put aside. ... He could really be a very nice, quiet, gentle guy. But he's also got that other side that's quite intimidating."
When Paul Felder participated in his first amateur MMA bout in 2009, his friends from the field of acting thought it was a one-off thing - something he was trying out as an experiment.
But Felder decided that he had to do it again. The theatre's loss turned out to be the octagon's gain.
#3 Paul Felder holds a unique UFC record
Paul Felder might not be a champion yet in UFC, but he does hold a very unique UFC record.
Tied with Curtis Blaydes, Felder has the most number of UFC knockouts from elbow strikes. They both have three each.
Felder knocked out Alessandro Ricci at UFC Fight Night 105 in the first round with elbows and punches. In his next fight, he KO'd Steven Ray at UFC Fight Night 112 with elbows once again in the first round.
He used his elbows to TKO Charles Oliveira in the fight after that, at UFC 218, headlined by Max Holloway vs. Jose Aldo 2. This time the fight went till the second round.
However, this is not the only UFC record he holds. Felder is among the eight fighters in UFC history to ever knock out an opponent with a spinning backfist. Felder joined the elite club in 2015 when he knocked out Danny Castillo with a spinning backfist at UFC 182, main evented by Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier.
The other members of the club are - Shonie Carter, John Makdessi, Douglas Silva de Andrade, Aleksandar Rakic, Johnny Walker, Stephen Peterson, and the latest to join, Beneil Dariush.
#2 The 'Paul Felder Curse'
The so-called 'Paul Felder' curse is yet to be broken in UFC. It is said that if a fighter manages to secure a win over 'The Irish Dragon', they will go on to lose their next bout. It has been true for all five of the fighters who have defeated Paul Felder inside the Octagon.
Felder's first defeat was to Edson Barboza at UFC on FOX 16 via decision in July, 2015, after which Barboza went on to lose to Tony Ferguson in December. The next victim of the "curse" was Ross Pearson, who beat Felder via split decision at UFC 191 and then dropped a decision to Francisco Trinaldo three months later.
Trinaldo himself suffered a similar fate. His win over Felder came via doctor's stoppage TKO in September, 2016. In March 2017, he was submitted by Kevin Lee in the second round.
It was Mike Perry's turn next when he picked up a split decision against Paul Felder at UFC 226 in July 2018. He then lost his very next fight via first-round submission to Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone in November.
For anyone still not convinced - Dan Hooker, who was on a three-fight winning streak and had lost only one of his last 8 bouts, lost to Dustin Poirier after winning against Paul Felder in the main event of UFC Fight Night 168 this year.
All of it is of course purely coincidental. But if something holds true for five consecutive times, one might as well start believing!
#1 Paul Felder left broadcast mid-air to be at a friend's corner
Paul Felder is as loyal a friend as he is a great fighter. Also, it seems like there is nothing in UFC that Paul Felder cannot do.
When Felder's longtime friend and training mate Jared Gordon was left without his team at UFC Fight Night 172 in Abu Dhabi, he decided to step in without missing a beat. Gordon's coaching team from Sanford MMA in Florida, who are usually present by his corner, could not fly to Abu Dhabi with the fighter as they all either tested positive for COVID-19 or came into close contact with someone who had.
But with Felder present there as a color analyst and commentator, there was no way Jared Gordon would have fought alone.
Gordon approached Felder after reaching Abu Dhabi and asked him if he could be at his corner for his fight against Chris Fishgold. The two have known each other for nearly a decade, training together at Donald Cerrone's BMF Ranch in Edgewood, New Mexico, and Roufusport in Milwaukee. Gordon said to ESPN that Felder has been there with him for some of his lowest points in life, which include his battle with addiction.
Paul Felder took permission from UFC to leave his position of analyst for that one fight and was there at Gordon's corner to see him pick up the decision against Fishgold. He also helped Gordon make weight ahead of the fight.
