Paul Felder made James Vick’s height irrelevant as he overwhelmed Vick for 15 minutes in the UFC Phoenix main event.
James Vick comes off his first main event with a co-main event spot at UFC Phoenix. That headlining bout was against Justin Gaethje, and resulted in a first-round knockout defeat for the lanky lightweight. The loss snapped a four-fight win streak for Vick, who had defeated respected veterans Joe Duffy and Francisco Trinaldo along the way. Vick is an impressive 9-2 in the UFC.
Paul Felder may be proving his worth as a commentator for the UFC, but he is still not one to be messed with inside the cage. Before a short-notice welterweight loss to Mike Perry in his last fight, Felder has won five of six and was on a three-fight knockout streak. “The Irish Dragon” has five stoppages in his seven Octagon victories.
James Vick established his length early on by throwing a good amount of kicks. We also saw Felder try to get a feel for the range with several missed overhands and even a spinning attack. Those would become key instruments later on. After a brief clinch exchange late in the round, Felder nails Vick with a spinning back fist that rocks his opponent. Vick was able to clinch up and hang on until the buzzer.
Vick clinched up with Felder early in the second to the dismay of the restless crowd. They broke apart began establishing his low kick against his lanky opponent. A pair of big overhand rights landed for Felder in the round, but his leg kicks started to add up, doing visible damage to Vick.
Low kicks began hobbling Vick in round three. The leg attacks opened other angles for Felder, and he was able to land overhand rights and a stinging left hand throughout the round. Felder landed a crushing spinning back fist late in the fight, but it just led to a clinch battle. Vick landed a hard straight as time expired, but Felder pieced him up.
Paul Felder def. James Vick by Unanimous Decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
