Should Paul Felder drop down to the Featherweight (Opinion)

Paul Felder
Paul Felder

Paul Felder has had an incredible career at the UFC lightweight division. He has picked up notable victories over some of the best lightweight fighters of the modern era. Felder will go down as one of the best fighters in the lightweight division and has made a significant impact in the world of mixed martial arts. Paul Felder has emerged victorious on 9 occasions from the 14 times that he has competed inside the octagon. Felder avenged his loss against Edson Barboza at UFC 242 after he picked up a close split decision win over Barboza.

Paul Felder put up an incredible performance against Dan Hooker in his last fight at UFC Fight Night: Felder vs Hooker. In what was a Fight of the Night outing for both the fighters, Felder missed out on a close victory, losing the fight via split decision. However, with an exciting performance, Felder proved his mettle in the division. Soon after the loss, Felder expressed his desire to retire. However, in the recent past, he has hinted at making a return to the octagon. Felder is currently enjoying is duties as an Analyst and commentator, and will look to cement his position once again.

Paul Felder should drop down to Featherweight division

UFC 242 Khabib v Poirier
UFC 242 Khabib v Poirier

It can be argued that Paul Felder will do better at the UFC featherweight division if he decides to drop down from lightweight. Recently, many UFC fighters have gone down and fared well at the division. The most recent example was Edson Barboza, who dropped down to featherweight after consecutive losses at the lightweight division. With Frankie Edgar and Jose Aldo going down bantamweight, it has been a trend in the UFC for former top contenders to drop down weight and cement their position again.

If we look at the past, many UFC fighters have gone on to cement their position in the new weight division after dropping down from their present weight class. Joseph Benavidez started at the bantamweight division, and has gone on to become one of the greatest flyweigt fighters of all time.

With great conditioning and expert diet, UFC fighters have looked credible and akin to lightweight fighters even at the featherweight division. Felder's fighting style and his incredible cardio are both solid positives if he decides to make the jump. Another interesting thing to note is the fact that lightweight division is extremely competitive with lethal knockout strikers in the division. With the credibility that Paul Felder brings inside the octagon, there's a very likely possibility that Paul Felder will fare better at the featherweight division.

With a lot of incredible match-ups in the form of Max Holloway, Calvin Kattar, and Alexander Volkanovski, there's a good reason why Paul Felder should drop down to featherweight division. Paul Felder is 35, and has looked incredible in his last few fights. It will be interesting to see him compete at the featherweight division.

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