Paul Felder won’t be retiring after all.
After going the distance against Dan Hooker at UFC Fight Night Auckland, the 34-year-old made an emotional statement that strongly indicated that he would be hanging up the gloves for good:
However, it appears that Felder was just going through the motions after his war against Dan Hooker as the lightweight confirms that he won’t be retiring after all, stating on
Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show that he’s a pretty dramatic guy (Transcript courtesy of Fightful.com):
“That moment almost seemed right, but nah, I think I’ve got a lot more left in me physically,” Felder said.
“I’m already recovering from one of the hardest battles of my life, and s**t, it’s addictive, man. That five rounds, that main event, I liked it. I liked being on the poster. I’m a pretty dramatic guy. I kind of always think about that moment [of retiring in the cage].
Just as I always think about what having the belt put around my waist would be like and taking that back to Philly,” he continued.
“Or fighting at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Or bringing the belt to the Eagles’ stadium, The Linc, and hanging out with the team. I fantasize about all of these things, and retirement is just another one of them. And it’s not in any bad way.”
While Felder guarantees a return to the octagon, he makes it clear that he won’t settle for anyone less than the top five of the 155-pound division:
“If something were to happen to any of these guys in the top five and they can’t match up the way the UFC wants them to match up,” Felder said.
“There’s been some talk of Al Iaquinta wanting to fight me, and if you give me a five-rounder with him on a big Fight Night, or a rematch with Hooker, which is never going to happen, but obviously that’s something I would take to get that one back. I’m not coming back for the last fight on the prelims, or even the second fight on a pay-per-view. And it’s nothing against them. It’s not saying that I deserve all of these extra things. It’s just, to go through what I go through and put myself through in training, and then you see how I pushed myself in the fight, you can’t deny that anymore.”
At the moment, there’s no word on when Felder could return to the octagon. As always, we’ll keep you updated when his next fight is confirmed.