Could Paul Felder make it three bonuses in a row at UFC 218?
In lightweight action at UFC 218 in Detroit on Saturday, Charles Oliveira looked to make it two in a row against Paul Felder. Oliveira had returned to the weight class in his previous bout, a submission victory against Will Brooks.
Felder, meanwhile, entered the night off back-to-back Performance of the Night bonus winning bouts. Those two fights came against Alessandro Ricci and Stevie Ray. Both were stoppages via elbow.
The pair headlined the televised portion of Saturday’s UFC 218 preliminary card.
Starting the action with a pair of leg kicks, Charles Oliveira kicked things off in Detroit. Felder would answer back with a left, but moments later, Oliveira secured a takedown. That put Felder in some serious danger against the crafty Brazilian. Oliveira would control the fight on the ground, and look to sink in a D’Arce choke. He would come close, with Felder rolling through it several times. He could not, however, break free, and it looked like he might go out. Instead, possibly feeling the burn in his arms, Oliveira loosened his grip. Felder had a chance to escape, but Oliveira threw a blatantly illegal knee to the face of the grounded Felder. The ref clearly did not see it however.
Felder would make it back to his feet, but Charles Oliveira was on his back looking for a choke. It wouldn’t come; Felder shook him off, and landed some ground and pound from inside Oliveira’s guard to end the round.
In the second, Felder pressed his opponent up against the cage. He’d connect with an elbow, which sent Oliveira down. Felder followed him, a dangerous adventure. He looked to add strikes from the top, but Oliveira would threaten to snatch a leg. He used that to make it back up ever-so-briefly, but Felder had him right back down. The elbows started to rain, and they started getting nasty. Oliveira seemed to tap after a particularly big elbow by the fence, but neither Felder nor the ref appeared to notice. He’d add a few more as Oliveira covered up, and the ref came in the wave it off.
That marked the third straight finish via elbows for ‘The Irish Dragon.’
Paul Felder def. Charles Oliveira by knockout (elbows), Roudn 2, 4:06
