February 20, 2017
It's been a great start to 2017 for UFC lightweight (and University of the Arts grad) Paul Felder.
First, the trained actor played himself in a recent episode of one of his favorite TV shows, "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia," alongside his friend and fellow UFC fighter Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone.
“Nothing cuts weight like Fight Milk.”@CowboyCerrone fights on Sat. Tonight, he & @felderpaul are on @alwayssunny: https://t.co/2bCvc0JIGl pic.twitter.com/6Y30F1Bfyu
— Matt Mullin (@matt_mullin) January 25, 2017
Then, after having his UFC 208 fight scrapped due to an opponent injury, Felder (13-3-0) returned to the site of his first UFC fight, Halifax, where he not only scored a first-round TKO of Alessandro Ricci, but also earned a $50,000 "Performance of the Night" bonus.
The victory came thanks to a quick left elbow from the Philly native that shattered Ricci's nose and left him stunned, sitting on the octagon mat before the referee quickly stopped the fight. Take a look:
.@felderpaul rocks Alessandro Ricci with a stealthy elbow and TKO's him. Beautiful Performance! #UFCHalifax Please #Follow Us @MMAHEYDAY pic.twitter.com/IiQs7cvIh5
— MMAHEYDAY (@MMAHEYDAY) February 20, 2017
Felder, 32, has now won three of his last four fights and continues to be one of the most exciting in the sport every time he steps into the octagon. In his last seven fights, he has won three fight-night bonuses (two "Performance" and one "Fight of the Night").
Perhaps you remember this epic knockout of Danny Castillo from UFC 182 in Jan. 2015:
It was a hell of a showing for The Irish Dragon, one worthy of the $50K bonus. I highly recommend checking out this breakdown of the entire thing over at Vice's Fightland blog.
Follow Matt on Twitter: @matt_mullin
