All’s well that ends well for Paul Felder.
Twenty-four hours ago, Felder was preparing to fight James Vick in Boise, Idaho, on July 14. However, late Wednesday night Vick was moved to the main event of the Aug. 25 card in Lincoln, Nebraska, against Justin Gaethje after Al Iaquinta withdrew from the fight.
Felder was left without a fight for a few hours until Yancy Medeiros pulled out of his UFC 226 fight against Mike Perry due to a fractured rib.
Once that news broke, Felder campaigned to the UFC brass to move up to welterweight to fight Perry on nine days’ notice, and after considering several options, including Donald Cerrone, the promotion has settled on Felder vs. Perry at 170 pounds next Saturday night in Las Vegas, Dana White told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto. Both fighters have verbally agreed to the bout.
The fight will mark Felder’s welterweight debut. He told ESPN on Thursday that he is currently weighing in the “low 180s.”
UFC 226, headlined by Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier for the UFC heavyweight title, takes place July 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Felder vs. Perry will take place on the preliminary card.