Paul Felder and James Vick have agreed to fight before the end of the year. Now, all they have to do is get the UFC to sign off on it and there seems to be nothing standing in the way of the two squaring off to the delight of UFC fans. Paul Felder asked for a ranked opponent earlier this week, and James Vick has volunteered to fill that spot. Felder threw out a feeler at the start of the week to gauge if anyone in the Top 15 would be interested:
Yo top 15 lw or WW who wants some come December/ January? Got the Philly special waitin for you…#irishdragon #philadelphia #muaythai #comegetit #imskippingtheline #mytime #lightweight… https://t.co/KPklqx2djB
— Paul Felder (@felderpaul) September 2, 2018
James Vick, somewhat unexpectedly so soon following his KO loss to Justin Gaethje 10 days ago, stepped up:
hey bro I'll take it. Let's do it in December. I figure I at least owe you a fight if you want it since I switched opponents last min, then your injury happened and we both didn't get the results we wanted. Just lmk I guess
— James Vick (@JamesVickMMA) September 2, 2018
Of course it did not take long for Paul Felder to jump on the opportunity that Vick was offering him:
Just gotta get on @seanshelby to make it happen. Gotta be #UFCMilwaukee or later bro. That work? #professionals #playitback https://t.co/41T9SbDq7O
— Paul Felder (@felderpaul) September 5, 2018
This decision may come as a small surprise to some, even if only in Felder’s inner circle, as earlier this year after competing at welterweight against Mike Perry, Felder expressed a desire of himself and others to stay at welterweight for health reason:
“I’ve had different coaches think different things,” Perry told Ariel Helwani in July. “My mom, first of all, doesn’t even want me to think about going back to 155. And most of my friends agree, ‘Man, you’re a lot more pleasant…you’re returning phone calls a lot better when you’re eating and fighting at 170.’
“I don’t know, man. That’s a good question. Why would you want to go through that? I’m 34, man. I’m not getting younger in this sport. It’s definitely something I’m going back and forth on. I really do want to just ride out my career slugging it out and seeing where I go at 170, having great training camps, not killing myself, and then putting on performances like that.”
Felder now appears ready and willing to go through the pains and entertain the fans in the stacked 155-pound division once again, and he has a willing slugger in James Vick ready to get back on the horse and meet Felder in a sure-fire shootout.
Is this fight the right fight to make for Paul Felder and James Vick?
