Getty Conor McGregor & Paul Felder
Top UFC lightweight contender Paul Felder was praised by the MMA community on Monday after it was announced that he was stepping in on five days notice to fight former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos in the main event of UFC Vegas 14 on Saturday.
Fighting superstar Conor McGregor took a different approach, however, shading “The Irish Dragon” on Twitter Monday night.
“Notorious” has a history of trash talking Felder and taking aim at his heritage. McGregor, a proud Irishman, claims that Felder should not have the nickname “The Irish Dragon” as McGregor says the “Felders are German-English.”
McGregor made his point days before Felder took on Dan Hooker in the main event of UFC Fight Night 168 in February. Both McGregor and Felder responded to a fan’s question about The Irish Dragon. Commenting on Felder’s attire during a faceoff with Hooker, the fan wrote, “If [Paul Felder] fought [Conor McGregor], would he still dress like that and call himself the ‘Irish Dragon?'”
FACE-TO-FACE!
Our main event looks ready for Saturday 👊 #UFCAuckland
The Irish Dragon responded, “Wtf wouldn’t I?”
Notorious then replied to Felder with a scathing response, writing, “The Felders are German-English. Shut up you ginger German tw*t.”
TwitterConor McGregor replies to Paul Felder’s tweet.
On Monday, McGregor hit Felder with another heritage jab, tweeting, “Günther, Schneider, and Felder. #TheLads.” Notorious included a German emoji at the end of the tweet, implying Felder’s last name is of German origin. McGregor deleted the tweet shortly after.
See a screenshot of McGregor’s tweet below:
TwitterConor McGregor shades Paul Felder on Twitter.
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Felder Is Taking on a Former Lightweight Champion on 5 Days Notice
The Irish Dragon is currently ranked No. 7 in the lightweight division and on Saturday, he will compete for the first time since losing to Hooker in February via split decision. He is 5-2 in his last seven bouts and has a professional MMA record of 17-5 with 10 wins by KO or TKO and one by submission.
He will meet “RDA” for a five-round battle in the main event of UFC Vegas 14. Dos Anjos was originally supposed to fight Islam Makhachev, however the Russian pulled out of the match on Sunday due to a staph infection.
Saturday will mark Dos Anjos’ return to the lightweight division after competing at welterweight for over three years. RDA won the UFC lightweight title in 2015, and after defending it once, he lost back-to-back matches and moved up to 170 pounds in 2017.
Dos Anjos has a professional record of 29-13 with five wins via KO or TKO and 10 by submission.
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Felder Consider Retiring From MMA After Losing to Hooker
After dropping the split decision to Hooker, The Irish Dragon spoke with UFC commentator Dan Hardy inside the Octagon. An emotional Felder, who also works as a commentator for the promotion, said “it might be it for me.”
The Irish Dragon said that he had a four-year-old at home and he missed her every time he was away. However, Felder ended the interview by saying he would go back home and think about his fighting career before making a decision.
“If this is your last dance, thank you so much…” 🖤 #UFCAuckland
Evidently, Felder has decided to continue competing. During an interview with ESPN on Monday, The Irish Dragon explained why he took the fight against RDA on five days’ notice.
“Man, you’re still 36 [years old],” Felder said about himself. “You’re young, you’re in shape, save the day, let’s go get paid. Let’s have fun, you’re fighting a legend. What do I have to lose?”
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