Paul Felder's post-UFC on ESPN+ 26 retirement talk premature, coach and manager say
Paul Felder admitted "that might be it" for him after coming up short in a grueling five-round war, but his team disagrees.
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Paul Felder was emotional in the wake of his loss to Dan Hooker at UFC on ESPN+ 26, and it remains to be seen what the future will hold for “The Irish Dragon.”
Felder (17-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) suffered a split decision loss to Hooker (20-8 MMA, 10-4 UFC) in Saturday’s headliner at Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. After the five-round war, Felder struggled to digest what could come next.
The lightweight contender also has a flourishing career as a UFC commentator and analyst, and that work has been something Felder has juggled alongside his fighting career. At 34, Felder has said many times that he would only continue to compete as long as he felt fighting for a UFC title was realistic.
After the loss, it appeared the setback to Hooker put him in the situation of facing some hard questions.
“Man, I got a 4-year-old at home that misses me every time I go away like this,” Felder said, holding back tears during his octagon interview with Dan Hardy. “I don’t know. But congratulations to Dan. I knew this is exactly what I was in for when I came here to New Zealand. I pissed this guy off, and when you piss off a talented guy like Dan, he’s gonna bring it to you.
“Man, that was fun, brother. Five rounds going at it. I’m not sure (what’s next), you know. I’ll still go back, I’ll talk to my family, but it was an absolute honor to share the octagon for 25 minutes with this guy.”
Although Felder cast some doubt about his fighting future, those around him believe he’s still got more left in the tank.
“His retirement comments were in the moment,” Felder’s head coach, Duke Roufus, told MMA Junkie, “Paul’s not done.”
Felder’s longtime manager, Brian Butler of SuckerPunch Entertainment, echoed Roufus’ statement and sees more fights for Felder, especially given the somewhat controversial nature of the outcome.
“Paul will be back,” Butler told MMA Junkie. “He said it to me in the back. … Emotions run high, but Paul knows he won that fight and is not hanging it up just yet.”
Felder came out on the losing end Saturday, but a good contingent of viewers saw the fight in his favor, including one of the three judges. Public opinion doesn’t get Felder where he would’ve been with the official win, though, and now he’s left to figure things out.
“I knew it was close,” Felder said. “I feel like I hurt him a lot in the fight, but he got the takedowns, which is smart. He busted me up pretty good. That might be it for me.”