Rafael Dos Anjos

UFC Vegas 14 Preview: Paul Felder – Rafael Dos Anjos

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It’s been a crazy leadup to UFC Vegas 14 which goes down tomorrow night. Initially, Rafael Dos Anjos (29-13) was set to take on rising prospect, Islam Makhachev, in the main event tomorrow night.

However, staff infection pulled Makhachev out of the fight. The UFC searched for a replacement and landed on one who was set to be the color commentator tomorrow night. That man is the Irish Dragon, Paul Felder (17-5).

Felder will enter the octagon tomorrow night for the first time since his split decision loss to Dan Hooker in February. He’s currently ranked 7th in the UFC‘s lightweight division. However, he’s coming into this fight with virtually no camp.

Felder had been training for a triathlon before accepting the fight. His weight was manageable, and he felt that he was in good enough cardio shape to accept the fight which is how he ended up headlining the card tomorrow night.

He gets the chance now to face a former UFC champion in Rafael Dos Anjos. RDA comes into this fight just 1-4 in his last five fights. He’s dropping back down to lightweight after he spent the last three years at welterweight.

RDA’s journey at welterweight started out great with three straight victories. However, then he ran into the elites of the division like Colby Covington, Kamaru Usman, and Leon Edwards. Now, RDA is returning to the division that made him a UFC champion.

UFC Vegas 14 Prediction

This is such a tough matchup to pick. Given all the circumstances, one would think that the former UFC lightweight champion has the big advantage. It’s a five round main event, and RDA has been preparing for that.

Meanwhile, Felder was preparing to commentate just a week ago. However, Felder does have the skillset to really make this fight interesting. RDA does really well when he’s the guy who puts on the striking pressure.

He does extremely well when he moves forward, but he struggles off of his back foot. Felder is the kind of guy who’s going to come right out and put pressure on RDA. He does a fantastic job of checking leg kicks which could be key in this matchup.

On a full camp, I would really lean towards Felder over the former UFC champion. However, I just don’t know how sharp we are going to see Felder with no camp. I know he’s been training and he’s been hitting pads.

However, that doesn’t translate to live MMA training. You have to respect Felder for stepping up for the UFC. There aren’t many that would do it. However, with a full camp and seemingly extremely motivated, I’m leaning slightly towards RDA to squeak this one out. But, it will be close.

Prediction: Rafael Dos Anjos by Split Decision

Paul Felder’s journey from commentator to headliner at UFC Vegas 14

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This Saturday night at UFC Vegas 14, fight fans will see an incredible lightweight matchup in the main event. Although, it is not the lightweight matchup that we thought we were going to see on Saturday night.

Originally, former UFC lightweight champion, Rafael Dos Anjos (29-13), was set to take on Islam Makhachev (18-1). This was supposed to be a big test for the budding UFC star in Makhachev. However, a staff infection caused him to pull out of the fight on Sunday.

Dos Anjos was left without an opponent. He called out Michael Chandler, however, the promotion has other plans for him. The UFC started sending out feelers to see who could and would step in on short notice and fight RDA in the main event.

Turns out, they didn’t have to look very far. They had to just look at the expected commentators for UFC Vegas 14. When they did, they found the seventh ranked contender in the lightweight division, The Irish Dragon Paul Felder (17-5).

Felder had been training for a triathlon so he is in great shape when it comes to his conditioning. Because of his training, his weight is also lower than it normally would be when he’s not in a fight camp. So, Felder decided it was the perfect opportunity to jump in and save the day.

UFC Vegas 14’s Hero

Felder appeared on Ariel Helwani’s MMA show where he talked about the decision to step up. “I thought about it. I was like, ‘Man you’re still 36, you’re young, you’re in shape. Save the day, let’s go get paid, let’s have some fun. You’re fighting a legend.’ What do I have to lose?” Felder said to Helwani.

After Felder’s last UFC contest back in February, we weren’t sure if we’d see The Irish Dragon again. Felder was in a war with Dan Hooker and lost a split decision. Since then, Felder has been a regular in the booth calling UFC action.

However, it never appeared that Felder was completely out of the game. It just looked like he was waiting for the right opportunity. Well, it turns out that the right opportunity is this Saturday. If he wins, Felder is right back in the conversation to fight a big name at lightweight.

BREAKING: Rafael Dos Anjos – Paul Felder to headline UFC Vegas 14

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What a 24 hours it has been for UFC Vegas 14. First, it was announced last night that Islam Makhachev was out of the main event. This is the second time that the proposed fight with Rafael Dos Anjos (29-13) had fallen through.

From there, the UFC began to work on a replacement for RDA. Dos Anjos called out Michael Chandler last night, however, Chandler said that he had other plans and wouldn’t be stepping in. The UFC never offered the fight to Chandler.

Well, per ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, the UFC has found their replacement for Makhachev. The Irish Dragon, Paul Felder (17-5) will be stepping in on short notice to face Dos Anjos in the main event of UFC Vegas 14.

The crazy thing to me is that the fight is still going to take place at lightweight despite the short notice. Another crazy thing is that apparently Felder has agreed to the fight remaining 25 minutes despite having no training camp. Tons of respect for the Irish Dragon.

UFC Vegas 14’s New Main Event

This is literally the best case scenario for the UFC. They are able to keep their main event together, and now, they actually have a higher ranked opponent for RDA. Sure the fight was supposed to showcase and test Makhachev, but who doesn’t want to see Felder back in there.

The last time we saw Felder compete was back in February. The Irish Dragon was in an absolute war with Dan Hooker. In Hooker’s home of Australia, Felder fought him to a brutal split decision. However, Felder showed just how good he was that night.

Felder will enter the cage as the seventh ranked lightweight in the world on Saturday night. It’s a completely different fight for Dos Anjos, but it should be a fantastic matchup in the lightweight division. Fight fans should be pumped that the UFC was able to pull this off.

Michael Chandler turns RDA down; Says UFC has other plans for him

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Michael Chandler

Last night news broke that the UFC Vegas 14 headliner was in jeopardy after Islam Makhachev had to pull out. Makhachev was scheduled to headline the event next Saturday opposite of former UFC lightweight champion, Rafael Dos Anjos.

The UFC is currently working on a replacement opponent to headline against RDA. However, the former champion came out last night and called out Michael Chandler on Twitter. That’s who RDA wanted in the main event.

A lot of fans seemed intrigued by the matchup. Fighting a former UFC champion would be a good way for Chandler to kickoff his career inside the octagon. However, Chandler has come out today and said that he will not be headlining next week’s card.

Fans were commenting on Chandler’s Instagram page about the potential fight. Chandler responded saying, “We have other plans.” So for now, it will appear that RDA is not going to get his wish of fighting Michael Chandler next Saturday.

What could those UFC plans be?

Since Chandler was signed by the UFC, the promotion has made him a very big deal. He was the backup for the UFC 254 main event, and they’ve tried to book him against Tony Ferguson. However, Ferguson didn’t seem interested in the fight.

Conor McGregor is supposed to fight Dustin Poirier in January. With that in mind, there are a few options for the UFC and Michael Chandler. Justin Gaethje, Dan Hooker, and Tony Ferguson are all out there as potential opponents for the former Bellator lightweight champion.

There have also been rumors around Chandler potentially being one of the TUF coaches this year. Either way, I’m expecting the UFC to book Chandler against one of the best guys in the world for his debut. It will truly be a sink or swim test for the former Bellator champion.

Islam Makhachev out of UFC Vegas 14 Main Event

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UFC Vegas 14 has lost it’s main event. Tonight it was announced that Islam Makhachev was forced to withdrawal from next week’s main event against Rafael Dos Anjos. The news was first reported by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto.

This fight was originally supposed to take place at UFC 254. However, due to RDA testing positive for COVID-19, the fight was moved to next weekend where it was going to headline. Now, the promotion is forced to scramble.

UFC Vegas 14 was not the strongest card on paper. It’s not an easy card to just slide the co-main event into the main event slot. However, the promotion does have options. ESPN is reporting that the UFC is trying to find a replacement opponent to keep Dos Anjos in the main event.

This is a tough break for fight fans who were excited to see Makhachev fight a guy like Dos Anjos. The former UFC lightweight champion has already been campaigning for his new opponent. He seems interested in fighting Michael Chandler.

What will the UFC do?

As you can see, RDA is very interested in having the UFC book him against Michael Chandler. However, I don’t think the promotion will make that happen. Many wanted to have Chandler face Makhachev after RDA fell out, but the promotion has different plans for Chandler.

That being said, I’m not sure who the UFC will try to pair up with Dos Anjos. They will likely look at fighters who compete at lightweight and welterweight for this main event slot. However, it’s going to be difficult to get a big name with just six days notice.

We will continue to monitor what the UFC is planning on doing with the main event next week. This is a really tough blow for both guys and for fans who were excited to see the matchup. I’m sure the promotion is going to be working very quickly to get a new opponent for RDA.