Ex-UFC Fighter Questions Paul Felder's Return Talk: 'You Have A Great Job Sitting Cageside'

Comebacks are always on the cards in the fight game, with plenty of athletes seemingly finding it tough to completely bid farewell to combat sports.

The latest to contemplate a return is lightweight veteran Paul Felder, who initially hung up his gloves seven months on from a short-notice defeat to Rafael dos Anjos back in November 2020.

That setback followed a narrow main event loss at the hands of Dan Hooker in New Zealand, and both bouts saw "The Irish Dragon" walk away with Fight of the Night bonuses.

Since calling time on his career, Felder has become a regular figure at the commentary desk, working as a color analyst alongside the likes of Daniel Cormier, Joe Rogan, Dominick Cruz, and Michael Bisping. 

But it appears that he may be getting that itch...

At the age of 39, Felder — who has kept in shape by competing in multiple triathlons — has been considering a return. In addition to battle-testing his abilities in the gym, "The Irish Dragon" has even rejoined the USADA testing pool. That paves the way for a comeback fight after six months and two clean tests.

One of Felder's peers, however, doesn't understand his desire to compete again.

Thomson Encourages Felder To Keep The Gloves Hanging

During an episode of the Weighing In podcast, former Strikeforce champion Josh Thomson reacted to news of Felder's potential return to MMA over two years on from his decision to retire.

Boasting a similar analyst role as Felder over in Bellator MMA, "The Punk" questioned why "The Irish Dragon" would want to stray from such a job in order to enter the cage again himself.

And with that view in mind, Thomson envisions a swift return to the sidelines should Felder commit to another Octagon outing.

"Paul Felder, he just entered back into the USADA pool. I'm like, 'Paul, you have a great job sitting cageside for every fight,'" Thomson said. "When Bellator has fights, I'm thinking to myself, 'There's no way I wanna give this job up. To get back in there? F*ck no.' I mean, I dunno, maybe they're interested in him coming back and he can make a lot of money... But I think after one or two camps, he's gonna be like, 'Yeah, this isn't what I wanted.'"

Given the manner of the defeats that came preceded his retirement, as well as the triumphs over Edson Barboza and James Vick beforehand, Felder hasn't let an obvious decline play out in the cage.

Although many will be concerned about that changing should he make the walk again, "The Irish Dragon" appears to miss the sport too much to let a potential comeback fall away.