Paul Felder issued an apology to ‘King’ Bobby Green after being accused of biased commentary during Saturday’s UFC Vegas 71 broadcast.
The incident in question came during Green’s lightweight scrap with Jared ‘Flash’ Gordon. With roughly 30 seconds to go in the opening round, Green moved in looking to land a left, but instead rammed his head directly into the temple of Gordon, sending him crashing to the canvas. ‘King’ jumped on his man, delivering a series of hammer fists that eventually rendered Gordon unconscious, forcing the referee to step in and call for the stoppage.
Reacting to the incident while on commentary, Paul Felder was noticeably upset by the situation, presumably because he is good friends with Jared Gordon. Appearing on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Bobby Green voiced his displeasure over Felder’s commentary in a profanity-laced rant aimed at the former UFC fighter.
“When we see each other, you know what time it is too,” Green said speaking directly to Felder. “We’re going to have some words when I see him. I’m gonna wait until we see each other face-to-face. When we see each other, he knows what time it is too. It’s just like, bro, stop with all that emotional bullsh*t.
“He was over there, ‘Come on!’ I’m like, bro, come on now, bro. Like, do your f*cking job, and then I heard him say that. They told him to calm down. He was too emotional. Do your f*cking job. I felt like he was d*ckriding because he was his homie. He lived with this dude or some sh*t. Bro, don’t d*ckride. Keep that sh*t straight up.”
Clash of heads between Bobby Green and Jared Gordon which leads to Green knocking out Gordon 😬
This fight is rules a No Contest. #UFCVegas71 pic.twitter.com/kGgMxcArp9
— Combat Sports Today 📰 (@CSTodayNews) April 23, 2023
Paul Felder Issues An Apology to Bobby Green
After learning of Bobby Green’s comments, Paul Felder took to Twitter and issued an apology to ‘King’ for his animated response to the incident.
“I understand the criticism,” Felder tweeted. “I got emotional. It was a friend. But it was also a pretty awful clash of heads that almost resulted in a TKO. I respect Green as a fighter. I do apologize for letting my emotions into play, but there is no need for threats. You don’t have to like me.”
I understand the criticism. I got emotional. It was a friend. But it was also a pretty awful clash of heads that almost resulted in a TKO.I respect green as a fighter. I do apologize for letting my emotions into play, but there is no need for threatsYou don’t have to like me 👊🏻
— Paul Felder (@felderpaul) April 24, 2023
Initially ruled as a TKO victory for Green, the Nevada State Athletic Commission stepped in shortly after the contest was called off. Using instant replay, the on-site officials confirmed that the unintentional headbutt directly led to the fight-ending sequence. As a result, the contest was ruled a no contest inside the Octagon.
Bobby Green was livid during his post-fight press conference appearance, as seen in the video clip below:
"I need my money": Bobby Green is FURIOUS about his no contest with Jared Gordon. 😡#UFCVegas71 | Full story: https://t.co/3LlxcSCaOB pic.twitter.com/BIM3a9IrE4
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) April 23, 2023
