Paul Felder retires from MMA at what I consider to be the worst and best possible time

I have been quite outspoken about fighters staying in the "game" well beyond their sell-by date and tarnishing their legacy in the process. The ones that really stick out in my mind are Cowboy Cerrone, Tony Ferguson, Johny Hencricks, Jose Aldo, and the top one being Anderson Silva.

All of these guys have impressive pasts but have not made much of an impression in their present. Their futures, barring any sort of miracle has a much greater chance of ruining their legacies than improving them.

There are a few exceptions to the rule of once you start going downhill such as Lyoto Machida and Holly Holm, but for the most part it's a one-way journey to obscurity.

Paul Felder wants to avoid going this route and I think it is the correct choice even though he has a novel opportunity considering who currently holds the lightweight title.

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Felder has a relatively impressive record with the UFC but it has seen a recent downward trajectory as he has suffered back-to-back losses in 2020. I do find his retirement to be a bit of a downer because he was likely going to get a "push" from UFC since he is one of the only people that has defeated now champ Oliveira with a KO back in 2017.

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This was a very bizarre KO since it wasn't really a KO but Oliveira tapped out due to ground and pound and while I am certain this has happened before I don't recall it. Was it a submission, was it a TKO? I guess it doesn't matter because it was a win either way.

With the right publicity team, this could propel Felder up the ranks and perhaps forgive his last two losses if he were to put on a good show in what would almost certainly be a big payout, perhaps even a main event in a non pay-per-view given that Oliveira hasn't lost to anyone in his 9 fights since that fight versus Paul Felder.

Personally, I don't think that Charles will be at the top for very long since I think that Poirier and Gaethje were unfairly bypassed for the vacant lightweight belt because of Dana White's desire to focus on a Poirier / McGregor trilogy. However, this would have been a novel time for Paul Felder to rise up even though he went down two spots pulling him out of the top 10 spots in the lightweight division.

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I suppose you could say on one side I admire the fact that he bows out after 2 losses in a row, perhaps realizing that even though he could capitalize on this situation that he realizes he doesn't have any sort of realistic chance of rising to the top. Like a lot of talent in the UFC that are closing in (or over) 40 years of age, one's ability to compete depends a lot on what the ol' body is capable of an let's face facts folks, MMA is a young man's game for the most part. At a certain point the body just can't improve anymore and time is working against you.

Felder also has a potential future providing commentary and this can be very lucrative. Just ask DC and Joe Rogan who face zero chance of injury, don't have to train 6 hours a day, and make more money than most of the people in the octagon they are sitting next to. Felder has shown a talent for providing color commentary for the UFC. If he were to suffer another loss, this job might not be available to him anymore and as tough as it is to get into the MMA limelight, it is arguably even tougher to get a job where all you have to do is be knowledgeable about the sport and give a play-by-play.

So while I say that this is the "worst possible time" I am saying that only from the perspective that he has a real opportunity to get thrust back into the limelight because he is the only person who has defeated the current lightweight champ since 2016. However, we also have to consider the fact that Felder, after dropping two straight and also getting awarded a commentary gig, might not be in the sort of shape that would make him anything more than a punching bag for opponents in the top-10. If this is the case and he hasn't been training, perhaps retiring was the best thing to do.

UFC president Dana White congratulated Felder on his retirement and said he "looks forward to working with him" as a commentator. That's a very powerful endorsement and well, I think if i was in Felder's shoes I would probably do the same thing. After all, it is very unlikely that anyone in the commentary booth is going to suffer a concussion at any UFC event.