UFC 218 results: Paul Felder rallies for win over Charles Oliveira

Things weren’t looking so hot for Paul Felder in the early going of his UFC 218 matchup against Charles Oliveira.

Oliveira’s a ground whiz with 14 career submissions to his credit, and he looked for subs early and often in the first round of their lightweight bout at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena on Saturday night.

But Felder managed to escape late in the round, then turned things in his favor. The Philadelphia native wore down the gassed out Brazilian over the second round and earned a TKO win at 4:06.

“I knew what was coming,” Felder said of the submission attempts, including a deep choke. “He kept coming back to it, it was hard. Hat’s off to him, he was close.”

Felder slowly picked Oliveira apart in the second round, taking care not to put himself in position for another potential submission attempt. He landed a huge elbow from which Oliveira tapped. But referee Dan Miragliotta didn’t see it, so Felder kept going with elbows until it was finally waved off.

“You know how it is in there,” Felder said. “Maybe he’s trying to move out of it, I just kept going. But I could feel him tap, yeah.”

Felder (15-3) won his third straight fight and fifth of his past six. Oliveira (22-8, 1 NC) has lost three of his past four.