Paul Felder competed in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night Phoenix, defeating James Vick by unanimous decision.
Vick would nail Felder with a knee strike to the body towards the end of the fight and Felder knew something was wrong, almost immediately.
“As soon as he hit me, I was like, holy shit, that was a hard knee,” Felder on The MMA Hour. “And I knew it was like 20 seconds left, I was looking at the clock. I thought I was ahead. I was like, ‘Man, just don’t let this dude knock you out, just don’t let this dude knock you out.’ Literally all I was thinking.”
Felder wound up suffering a collapsed lung due to that knee strike, which required surgery to repair after the injured lung wouldn't heal itself in due time.
The recovering fighter says that the injury was some of the most pain he has suffered in a long time.
“It’s the most pain I’ve been in in a really, really, really long time,” Felder said.
There is no word yet on when Felder will return to action or to the commentary booth, but more should be known as he heals up from the injury.
