A few weeks ago, Paul Felder (17-6) became the hero at UFC Vegas 14. Islam Makhachev was supposed to headline that card against Rafael Dos Anjos. However, due to staff infection, he had to pull out of UFC Vegas 14.
The card was left without one half of the main event six days before the event. The UFC searched for a replacement and found it at the commentary table. Felder was scheduled to call the action, but decided he would step up for the promotion.
Felder hadn’t fought since February and hadn’t stepped into an MMA gym in months. Admittedly, Felder said that he had somewhat lost the passion for competing. However, he was in shape due to training for a triathlon so he decided to give it a go.
With nothing to lose and a lot to gain, Felder stepped into the main event at UFC Vegas 14. He did come up short against RDA, however, he found that fire to compete again. He said he wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon.Â
Just a few days ago, Felder tweeted out that he was ready to go. Now that Felder is ready to jump back in the cage, who should the UFC pair him against. I think the best choice is right there in the top ten with Felder.
Potential UFC Lightweight Matchup
I think the perfect opponent for Felder would be Raging Al Iaquinta (14-6-1). Iaquinta is currently the tenth ranked lightweight in the UFC and he’s in a very similar position as The Irish Dragon.
Both men are currently on two-fight losing streaks. However, they are still in the top ten and they deserve a quality matchup in their next fight. Both of these guys love to trade and it would make for a very exciting fight.
When looking at the division, this fight just jumps out at me. Again, they are both in a very similar spot and you know that they’d put on a show for UFC fans. Neither have an opponent at the moment, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see the promotion try to make this happen.