Lightweight contender Paul Felder wants to welcome Michael Chandler to the UFC octagon

Lightweight contender Paul Felder wants to welcome Michael Chandler to the UFC octagon
Paul Felder and Michael Chandler

Lightweight contender and UFC analyst Paul Felder recently talked about wanting to fight Michael Chandler and welcoming him to the UFC. Felder also talked about Adesanya vs Costa post UFC 253, his retirement plans and what’s his take on Khabib vs Gaethje.

Michael Chandler, earlier signed to Bellator MMA recently signed a new deal with the UFC. Although he does not have a fight scheduled, it is official that he will be serving as a backup fighter for the Khabib vs Gaethje fight at UFC 254, provided anything goes wrong. Watch interview-

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Paul Felder(17-5) last fought Dan Hooker in February when he announced that he will be retiring for good. However, Felder has been pretty vocal about coming back to the action against a worthy opponent.

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Felder on fighting Chandler-

Michael Chandler

“There are only a few names I’d even be interested in coming back to fighting, It’s the top guys: Hooker, Ferguson, obviously Michael Chandler is going to come here to ‘Fight Island’ to be a backup. Hopefully that doesn’t happen, right? I think we can all agree we don’t want that to happen. It’s good that it’s in place. God forbid something goes down. But that’s a fight I’d like to come back for in December or early next year.”

Paul Felder showed immense interest in welcoming former Bellator lightweight champ Michael Chandler to the UFC.  “I’ve made it known that’s a fight I’d be interested in. I even texted Dana White when he first was talking to Chandler, saying, ‘Hey, if you need somebody to introduce him to the big show then I’d be interested.’ I have no disrespect toward Chandler. I think he’s a great athlete.”

Felder, 35, believes that UFC signing players like Chandler is a good move as it builds the roster up. “I’m actually excited that he’s over because that ‘what if’ has always been there,” Chandler said. “I’m glad the UFC is doing that and being more interested and kind of reaching out to these other champions and bringing them over. It’s having better guys. Who cares where they’re from? If they’re good, they’re good. Let’s have them compete against the best guys in the world.”

Felder last fought in February when he lost to Dan Hooker, who snapped his 2-fight winning streak. It would be unsure as to when Paul Felder would like to bounce back.

Also Read: I’d win but he will be paid more: Dustin Poirier on Michael Chandler fight