The coach and manager of UFC Lightweight contender Paul Felder says the fighter is not set on retirement, despite his post-fight comments at UFC Auckland.
After Paul Felder’s split decision loss to Dan Hooker in the main event of UFC Auckland, he told UFC commentator Dan Hardy that he was considering retirement.
“I knew it was close. I feel like I hurt him a lot in the fight but he got the takedowns. He was smart. He busted me up pretty good,” Felder said. “That might be it for me. I got a four-year-old at home that misses me every time I go away like this. I don’t know.”
It seems that Felder’s retirement talk isn’t set in stone. After UFC Auckland, MMAjunkie.com caught up with Felder’s coach Duke Roufus and his manager Brian Butler. Both, Roufus and Butler don’t think that this is the end of Felder’s career despite his post-fight comments.
“His retirement comments were in the moment. Paul’s not done,” Roufus said. “Paul will be back. 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,” Butler said.
Felder also works as a UFC color commentator, so if he did retire, then he already has another job lined up in the sport MMA.
Despite his loss to Hooker, Felder is still a top-10 ranked Lightweight in the UFC. In a fight that could have arguably went either way, perhaps after talking it over with his family and his team, Felder will decide to keep going.
This article first appeared on CLOSEDGUARDMEDIA.com on 23rd February, 2020.
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