Paul Felder Responds To Edson Barboza Win Criticism, Calls For Five-Round Rematch
Paul Felder believes the best way to end the debate if he beat Edson Barboza is by running things back a third time.
Felder defeated Barboza in a razor-close split decision in the co-main event of UFC 242 this past weekend. However, Barboza, his team and many fans believe the decision was wrong. This was all the more the case when one factors that one of the judges scored all three rounds to Barboza while another scored all three to Felder.
Barboza and his team will be appealing the loss but Felder believes the decision was correct, especially as he was walking down the Brazilian. However, he is open to a trilogy fight provided it’s five rounds:
“As for my fight and what seems to have turned into a controversial decision amongst fans.. It was a war… a close fight between 2 skilled people that wanted to finish each other,” Felder wrote on Instagram. “I have nothing but respect for Edson. We both go out and put on fights to entertain the fans… With that said, I will say this… I walked him down the entire fight, I threw at him the entire fight, I never stalled the entire fight, if he landed, I landed… the entire fight. When he took me down, he took the damage… the entire fight. I never gassed or slowed my pace the entire fight. I got cut due to a head butt, Edson got cut due to strikes.
“Both of us put our bodies through so much during that fight that whoever came out with the loss would understandably be upset but the numbers don’t lie. If we need to run it back I would be happy to, but this trilogy needs to be 5 rounds because someone was about to break and that someone was not me. If the fans and Edson need a clear ending to this then it’s main event or bust.”
Are you down to see Barboza vs. Felder III?
