After hectic day, Mike Perry vs. Paul Felder targeted for UFC 226

Mike Perry and Paul Felder have both had quite a day.

Following a chaotic Thursday that saw both men lose opponents for their respective upcoming bouts, the two fan-favorites have verbally agreed to fight on less than two weeks’ notice on July 7 atUFC 226 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

MMA Fighting confirmed the pairing following an initial report by ESPN.

Felder (15-3) was the first to see his fight cancelled.

“The Irish Dragon” lost his scheduled July 14 bout against James Vick at UFC Boise early Thursday morning when the UFC pulled Vick from the contest to serve as a replacement against Justin Gaethje on the August 25 card in Lincoln, Nebraska. The situation marked the second time in a row that the UFC has pulled an opponent out from under Felder; the 34-year-old lost his scheduled UFC 223 bout against Al Iaquinta when Iaquinta was tapped to challenge Khabib Nurmagomedov on one day’s notice.

Perry (11-3), meanwhile, saw his scheduled UFC 226 bout against Yancy Medeiros thrown into jeopardy when Medeiros was forced out of the fight Thursday afternoon due to a broken rib.

Sensing opportunity, Felder was quick to call Perry out on social media following Medeiros’ withdrawal — and because of the magic of Twitter, the fight was quickly agreed upon.

A lightweight contender, Felder will move up to 170 pounds to take on Perry at UFC 226.

Felder has won three fights in a row via KO/TKO, a run highlighted by a second-round destruction of Charles Oliveira.

After kicking off his UFC career with a hellacious run of knockouts, Perry has dropped back-to-back decisions at the hands of Max Griffin and Santiago Ponzinibbio.