UFC Veteran Reveals How His Wrestler’s Ear Kept People From Messing With Him

If you’re an MMA fan on social media, you have definitely come across memes or posts that tell you something along the lines of  ‘don’t mess with people who have ears like this.’. Well, this ‘this’ is called a cauliflower ear, a remnant of a common injury found in wrestlers. Whether or not people actually listen to the advice on these posts has always been in doubt, but former UFC star Paul Felder has now revealed how the mangled ears have acted as a violence deterrent for him.

A host of people, who otherwise wouldn’t have hesitated taking him on in a fight, apparently took one look at his ears and realized they did not want to pick a fight with him.

Billed as one of the most ferocious strikers and technical kickers at 155 lbs during his run, Felder officially hung up his gloves back in 2021 . Most recently, drafting in on short notice to fight ex-champion Rafael dos Anjos, Felder has been linked with a return ever since.

But, of course, people in real life don’t exactly know what a trained fighter looks like. After all, they range from Demetrious Johnson to Derrick Lewis. Felder has now revealed that his blood-filled ears have worked wonders as an identity marker in such cases.

“I’ve had people start some sh*t, thinking they’re gonna be a tough guy,” Felder said in an Instagram video. “Then they start to see the ears, then they’re like, ‘Oh, okay. Never mind,‘” he added, laughing.

Cauliflower ear occurs when the outer ear is subjected to harsh trauma, leading to blood or fluid buildup under the cartilage. The skin on the surface of the ear is the only access point for the cartilage’s supply of blood, which reportedly gives the ear its unique shape.

When the ear gets hit directly and hard, this blood supply stops, starving the cartilage of vital nutrients, causing the tissue to become hard and fibrous and giving it a weird shape. 

So, naturally, fighters who have trained since childhood tend to go through the ailment. And thankfully, it has stopped people from trying to fight Felder, because he has no intention whatsoever of throwing shots or taking any more of them for that matter.

Felder shuts down UFC 313 return next week

Linked with a potential barnburner with Gaethje, Felder laughed off calls to face the ex-interim champion on short-notice at UFC 313.

Seeing a pairing with Kiwi striker – would-be common-foe, Dan Hooker cancelled, Gaethje was left opponent-less.

Eventually Gaethje would land on a rematch with striking sensation, Rafael Fiziev; this will be the second time the two will fight in as many years.

However, before this happened, Felder’s teammate and dear friend, welterweight champion Belal Muhammad, cheekily threw his name in the proverbial goblet of fire. Thankfully, Felder was quick to withdraw it himself.

“You trying to get me hurt?” he joked on X.

Failing to ultimately shut the door on his career, notably, Paul Felder re-entered the UFC’s anti-doping program back in 2023. However, currently occupied with commentary duty on a near-weekly basis, he has claimed at the time he was “by no means” committed to fighting again.

Felder had also previously flirted with a stunning UFC 300 return against Jim Miller while being linked with Paddy Pimblett.

Ultimately failing to make good on a comeback, the UFC commentator admitted he was “leaning” toward fighting the East Coast favorite.

“…[I’m] leaning toward wanting to do it because it’s Jim, as he wants to be called at UFC 300, Jim f*cking Miller. I mean, he’s awesome. He fights awesome,” Felder explained. “Especially, I get to see that fight right in front of my eyes, right where it’s a leg kick battle”, he added. 

Interestingly, nothing ever came out of it.