Following a split decision loss to Dan Hooker, Paul Felder had a brief moment where he considered retirement. Yet Felder’s head coach Duke Roufus believes we’ll see “The Irish Dragon” back in the Octagon. Furthermore, Roufus believes Felder and Hooker could run it back and had an interesting suggestion for that potential rematch.
Speaking on The Luke Thomas Show on Sirius XM, Roufus discussed the fight and emotion behind the loss for Felder.
“Even in the loss, he took it with dignity, respect, a true martial artist, a man of character,’ Roufus said of Felder. “I’m very proud to be not only just Paul’s friend, his countrymen, his teammate, his coach with him — he took that thing like a champ and I love his attitude. I’d rather lose with Paul than win with some fighters. He’s gracious in victory, gracious in defeat, and I was very proud of him. I think it was a legendary fight.”
Being that this was a five-round main event fight for Felder, Roufus discussed the level of comfort for Felder in a longer fight and then revealed that he reached out to UFC President Dana White and suggested a rematch between Felder and Hooker take place in Dublin, Ireland.
“Five rounds is his jam,” Roufus said. “He actually made weight the easiest he’s ever made in his career. The fight game, it’s a love affair and like any other love affair, it breaks your heart sometimes. That one was a heartbreaker but what does not kill us makes us stronger, and we’ll be stronger.
“I did text Dana White after the fight and I haven’t heard an answer back, but I asked him I said ‘let’s run this back how about Dublin, August 15,’” Roufus added, calling for a Felder vs. Hooker rematch. “That’d be a hell of a main event in Dublin on fight night out there. I think this one deserves a rematch.”
While Hooker has called for a fight with either Justin Gaethje or Dustin Poirier next, there could also certainly be a rematch between Felder and Hooker as well.
Would you like to see a rematch between Paul Felder and Dan Hooker?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 2/27/2020.