P. Felder explains why he agreed to face R. Dos Anjos in the short term. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram
Hero is the word that defines Paul felder. The athlete saved the UFC Las Vegas 14, an event that takes place this Saturday (14), in the USA, by accepting to replace Islam makhachev and face Rafael dos Anjos in the short term, without having made adequate preparation. Despite the situation, 'The Irish Dragon' sees more positives than negatives for the fight and explained his reasons.
In interview with ESPN American, Felder highlighted the importance that RDA has in the sport, he knows that a victory over the former lightweight champion (70,3kg) will take him to face the big names in the category and revealed that the current scenario, in which many people are Suffering gave him strength to face the challenge.
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“I thought about this a lot. A lot of sad things are happening in people's lives and I realized that I'm 36 and I'm fit. I decided to take on the fight, have fun and get paid for it. I'll be fighting a legend! What do I have to lose? Dos Anjos really wants to fight at lightweight, he will return to the division and I wanted to give him that chance. The UFC tried to make this fight at a combined weight, but I chose to do it at lightweight for them. It won't be fun to make weight in a short time, but I'll do it. If I beat a legend, I'll be in the top-5 of the lightweight division and I'll be in bigger fights. How is the UFC not going to give me something big after this? I saved the event!”, said Felder.
With less than a week to go before the fight takes place, Felder assured that he will have no problem making the lightweight division and that he will be ready to perform for 25 minutes, as he loves being in the main fight.
“I like five-round fights. If I'm going to be in the main fight, I want to do it right. That's what Dos Anjos was programmed to do and I'm excited to fight five rounds, especially, with someone like him. I'm much thinner and lighter than usual. If I wasn't like that, I wouldn't have said yes to a fight in the short term. I'll be fine to make weight. My brain and body have recovered. I'm not killing myself, I'm training intelligently. I'm technically sharp and in good shape. I know I'm coming to the end of my career, that's why I also accepted this fight”, he concluded.
Currently, Paul felder is in seventh place in the lightweight rankings. In addition to fighting in the UFC, 'The Irish Dragon, 35, also works as a commentator for the organization.
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