Paul Felder is tired of UFC champions not fighting the rightful No. 1 contenders.
Felder was particularly talking about UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC), who said he’d vacate the title before fighting Arman Tsarukyan (23-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC).
Felder acknowledges it may be gamesmanship by Topuria, but can’t help but be baffled by this mindset.
“The guy’s the No. 1 contender,” Felder said of Tsarukyan on the “Believe You Me” podcast. “And to say that you would rather relinquish the belt than fight him is? Come on, man. We’re getting a little carried away. We’ve talked about this before where these guys in this generation of fighters, when they get to this top position now, are so willing to jump around weight classes and and try to deny fighting guys.
“It’s like, that’s not how it f*cking works, man! If the guy’s No. 1 and the UFC says, ‘This is the guy,’ you’re the champ. You’re holding that belt. That’s who you fight. If you’re the best and he’s not on your level and all this kind of stuff, then prove it! Just go out there and prove it. I hate that, and I’m not saying that I think that he doesn’t think he could beat him.”
Granted, Tsarukyan will likely have to fight one more time after withdrawing from his title fight against Islam Makhachev at UFC 311 in January. Topuria recently said he thinks his first title defense will be against either Justin Gaethje or Paddy Pimblett, but Felder is irked by “El Matador” ruling Tsarukyan out of the equation.
“I hate it. I was like, come on, man, here we go,” Felder said. “Here we go again. Now you’ve got a champion who’s just looking for the biggest thing. Look, the UFC is not going to try to put you in a position that’s not going to be a big thing.”
