Paul Felder Talks About Potential Retirement Following UFC on ESPN+ 26 Loss

At tonight’s UFC on ESPN+ 26 event, Dan Hooker won a five-round war against Paul Felder in the main event for the fight card that was held in Auckland, New Zealand. In his post fight interview, however, Felder suggested this latest loss could be it for his MMA career. You can check out a video of the post-fight interviews with Dan Hardy for the main event below.

Hooker won the fight via split decision and scores of 47-48, 48-47 x2. Felder stated on the fight and the split decision scorecards, “I knew it was close. I feel like I hurt him a lot in the fight, but he got the takedowns, which was smart. He busted me up pretty good, and that might be it for me.”

Felder continued and proceeded to get emotional as he mentioned how hard it is with his fight career and the time he spends away from his daughter. He added, “Man, I got a four-year-old at home that misses me every time I got away like this. I don’t know…”

Felder’s fellow combatant, Hooker, then came over and raised Felder’s hand in a classy display of good sportsmanship. Felder thanked Hooker and the two shared a brief embrace.

Felder went on, “Congratulations to Dan. I knew this is exactly what I was in for when I came out here to New Zealand. I pissed this guy off, and when you piss off a talented guy like Dan, he’s going to bring it to you. Man, that was fun, brother. That was fun. Five rounds going at it. I’m not sure. I’ll still go back. I’ll talk to my family, but an absolute honor to come in here and share the Octagon for 25 minutes with this [expletive].”

The loss for felder snaps his two-fight winning streak over James Vick and Edson Barboza last year. Felder’s UFC record currently stands at 9-5.

With the win, Hooker is now on a three-fight winning streak with back-to-back wins over James Vick, Al Iaquinta, and now Paul Felder.