Paul Felder details conversations with UFC brass about a potential comeback against Jim Miller at UFC 300

Paul Felder knew shortly after UFC Vegas 84 that he wasn’t going to be fighting Jim Miller at UFC 300.

After Miller scored a submission win, he called out Felder for UFC 300, and ‘The Irish Dragon’ was interested in ending his retirement for the fight. However, after the event, he spoke to Sean Shelby and others in the UFC brass who quickly shot down that fight.

“Fortunately for me, that night, I reached out to who matters, I reached out to Sean (Shelby) and we were out for dinner and I was like, let me at least just see if it’s even on the table before I get excited. The media talked to me, I’m like, ‘oh man, this might actually happen.’ You start getting those butterflies, those nervous feelings, wanted to go hit pads right then and there. Maybe I am pumped to do this. The only reason I was reluctant in the post-fight thing I did was you don’t want to go out and make that decision right then and there in front of everyone,” Paul Felder said on The Anik & Florian Podcast.

“That’s foolish, I’m an adult. I know I should go home, talk to everyone, and make sure everyone is on board before I commit to getting into a training camp for the first time in years. But, before I even got to that point, I talked to Sean and he’s like ‘We are looking to give him something closer to the top 10, it’s what me and Dana think is right for him.’ I was like ‘Okay.’ There is nothing else to be said, I can’t argue. I didn’t even get the ball rolling thinking it was going to happen,” Felder continued.

Of course, Paul Felder isn’t in the rankings but he was a top-10 lightweight before he retired. However, as Felder says, the UFC wanted to give Jim Miller someone currently ranked at UFC 300, which Bobby Green is.

With Felder not getting the Miller fight at UFC 300, it’s uncertain if he will ever end his retirement and compete again. If he stays retired, he would end his career with a record of 17-6 and coming off a decision loss to Rafael dos Anjos, after dropping a decision to Dan Hooker. In his career, he holds notable wins over Charles Oliveira, Edson Barboza, and James Vick among others.