"Blessed vs The Irish Dragon @ 55 ?" - Paul Felder showing interest in UFC return gets fans excited beyond belief

Paul Felder has not entered the octagon since losing to Rafael dos Anjos via split decision at UFC Fight Night 182 in November 2020. 'The Irish Dragon' officially announced his retirement from mixed martial arts six months later while working as a commentator at UFC Fight Night 188.

Despite spending more than two years officially retired and nearly three years unofficially retired, Felder recently teased a return to the sport after watching The Korean Zombie at UFC Fight Night 225, tweeting:

"@KoreanZombieMMA got me wanting to go once more… damn you zombie. Seeing him face that crowd one last time. Epic moments. Can’t get that main event out of my mind."

Check out Paul Felder's tweet below:

Fans reacted to Felder's tweet by sharing excitement and listing potential opponents. @SuperSmash87 suggested Max Holloway as an opponent, stating:

"Blessed vs The Irish Dragon @ 55 ?"

@OTrillmatic took things a step further with a plethora of opponents:

"If you willing to cut weight to LW again then you vs Tony, Joaquin Silva, Joe solecki, Thiago Moises would be the fights to make or if you don't want to cut much weight you could fight Tim Means, Brian Barberena, Niko Price, Sean Brady"

@RX_MMA_06 pointed out that Felder never had a true retirement bout:

"You deserve a real retirement fight, in a arena with everyone cheering. Not the empty Apex. We want to see the Irish Dragon walk 1 last time 🐉"

Check out the best fan reactions to Paul Felder below:

Fan reactions

Paul Felder gives update on triathlon career

Paul Felder has stayed busy following his 2021 retirement from mixed martial arts. In addition to his role as a UFC commentator, 'The Irish Dragon' attempted to begin a triathlon career. He recently took to Instagram to share that things have not gone according to plan, stating, in part:

"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!"

Check out Paul Felder's Instagram post below:

While Felder may not be able to race again this year, he is not ruling out a potential return in the future. He has competed in multiple Ironman Triathalon competitions, finishing as high as fourth in his age group earlier this year.