Paul Felder re-enters USADA testing pool after teasing UFC return

Paul Felder re-enters USADA testing pool after teasing UFC return

UFC commentator and former lightweight Paul Felder has re-entered the USADA testing pool. “The Irish Dragon” seems to have the itch for competition once again.

Felder initially teased a potential UFC return after seeing Chan Sung Jung’s retirement fight at UFC Singapore.

@KoreanZombieMMA got me wanting to go once more… damn you zombie. Seeing him face that crowd one last time. Epic moments. Can’t get that main event out of my mind.

— Paul Felder (@felderpaul) August 28, 2023

That statement in itself does not raise alarms that Felder will return, but he announced on the UFC Paris pre-fight show that he re-entered the USADA testing pool.

Paul Felder back in the USADA pool. pic.twitter.com/7DYVhHRNmP

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) September 1, 2023

An entry into the USADA testing pool takes a level of dedication. Felder is now required to inform USADA of his whereabouts at all times as he is subject to random drug testing. Typically, fighters relish the opportunity to remove themselves from the pool. This move proves Felder is more than talk.

UFC fighters are eligible to fight six months after re-entering the USADA testing pool. In Felder’s case, he would be eligible to fight in March 2024.

Felder initially retired from competition in 2021 after dropping a decision to Rafael dos Anjos. At the time of his retirement, he was still a quality fighter.

Felder’s UFC return does raise questions. At 39, he certainly did not get better over the last two years. Additionally, Felder has openly discussed having poor hips. The well-established UFC commentator already has a great job outside of the cage, too.

Paul Felder: The Underappreciated Irish Dragon

The most important aspect of Felder’s return would be his opponent. It would be a disservice to throw Felder into the octagon with a ranked opponent or a top prospect. Thankfully, the UFC lightweight division has quite a few veterans in the latter portion of their career. A Felder matchup against Tony Ferguson, Jim Miller, Clay Guida, Michael Johnson or Joe Lauzon would make a level of sense. I would not hate to see any of those fights on the UFC 300 prelims.

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