Paul Felder had a strong message for the fighters who missed weight for UFC Vegas 14 last night.
Felder stepped in on five days’ notice to take on Rafael dos Anjos in a lightweight bout that served as the event’s headliner.
Despite the short notice, Felder didn’t only make the weight, but also managed to last the full 25 minutes as he ended up losing a split decision — though in fairness, it should have been a unanimous decision for Dos Anjos.
Regardless, Felder’s stock certainly went up in defeat as he received plaudits from many in the combat sports world for stepping in as well as his overall performance.
Felder: Hire A Nutritionist, Make Weight, Perform!
Felder aside, the big talking point of UFC Vegas 14 was the number of fighters who missed weight.
The likes of Abdul Razak Alhassan, Eryk Anders and Louis Smolka all failed to make the weight — with the latter two not competing soon after — while Saparbek Safarov’s fight with Julian Marquez was canceled after he had weight management issues.
And to that, Felder unloaded with a strong message during his post-fight interview.
“And for those guys that missed weight and couldn’t make it here tonight, get your stuff together! Hire a nutritionist, get on the scale, make weight and go perform!
“I was dying on Thursday night to get on that scale at 156 pounds and I did it, and I showed up tonight for 25 minutes with no training, just training for a triathlon. So get your stuff together, get your sh*t together, and let’s go!”
FIRED UP.@FelderPaul is far from done 😤 #UFCVegas14 pic.twitter.com/BLCULhfzB8
— UFC (@ufc) November 15, 2020
If Felder could do it in five days, the rest of the roster can certainly do it with a full camp.
