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Days after announcing his official retirement, Paul Felder has revealed the moments that stood out the most during his days as a fighter.
'The Irish Dragon' started by speaking about his iconic main event against Dan Hooker in New Zealand and his whole experience in the country.
During his interview with Ariel Helwani of ESPN MMA, Felder opened up on his experience in the country and how nicely he was treated by the Kiwi fans, despite Hooker being the home favorite.
Felder claimed that he will never forget the memories of headlining two UFC cards and explained how it was a dream come true for him to finally get the main event spot.
"Yeah, there's definitely a couple. I mean, obviously that Dan Hooker fight in New Zealand with that crew, having all my coaches in this beautiful Airbnb we had right across this park in New Zealand. We're there for like two and a half weeks, we're running outside in the beautiful weather. Everybody wanted Dan to win but everybody was also so freaking nice to me. Like every radio station I went to, those people were all genuine, people on the street were yelling out of their cars at me good luck for this fight. You know, that first main event, I'll never forget that. Finally headlining, it was such a dream for so long and now I'm looking at two posters on my wall with my face on it."
While Paul Felder didn't get his much-desired title shot, one of his priorities was to headline a UFC event.
Paul Felder further revealed that he and his mom would always talk about the sequence of things he wanted to achieve in the UFC.
Felder also briefly discussed his experience against Rafael dos Anjos, which turned out to be the final fight of his career. He also mentioned his 2017 win over Stevie Ray in Glasgow, Scotland.
"You know, didn't get that title shot but it was main event and then it was the title shot. I had a sequence of things that me and my mom would always talk about. What I have to do before I can think about retirement? The one for sure was definitely getting as many main events as you can do in the time that you feel good about still fighting. Two one on super short notice against fighting a former champion. That sticks out to me, those two main events. Obviously, Stevie Ray, that fight in Scotland. Whenever I would win on home turf like that." Paul Felder said.
Paul Felder announced his retirement at UFC Vegas 27
At the recent UFC Vegas 27 card, Paul Felder announced his retirement during the broadcast on live television.
'The Irish Dragon' ended his career with two absolutely thrilling fights against Hooker and RDA, both of which Felder ended up losing despite a valiant effort.
However, Paul Felder is expected to continue his run as a UFC broadcaster and work alongside the likes of Michael Bisping and Jon Anik.
