Paul Felder replaces Yancy Medeiros, meets Mike Perry at UFC 226

Paul Felder is headed to welterweight.

“The Irish Dragon” is set to face Mike Perry next weekend at UFC 226 in Las Vegas, MMAjunkie.com reported on Thursday. ESPN’s Ariel Helwani first reported that the bout was close to a done deal. Dana White has since confirmed the matchup, via a report from ESPN’s Brett Okamoto on Twitter.

Felder was expected to meet James Vick in a lightweight contest on July 14, but he was left without an opponent for the second time in a row after Vick was booked against Justin Gaethje in an August fight, filling in for Al Iaquinta.

On the other side, Perry was preparing to face Yancy Medeiros at 170 pounds at this year’s International Fight Week pay-per-view, but the Hawaiian was forced out of the bout with an injury.

Felder is coming off a TKO win over Charles Oliveira at UFC 218 last December. “Platinum” has fell short in back-to-back fights, dropping decision losses to Santiago Ponzinibbio and Max Griffin.

Felder, who also serves as a color commentator for the UFC, hasn’t made it clear whether he’ll stay at welterweight after the Perry fight, but it seems likely he’ll return to his natural weight class of 155 pounds.

UFC 226 takes place at T-Mobile Arena on July 7. In the main event, heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic meets light heavyweight titleholder Daniel Cormier in a superfight. Miocic’s belt will be on the line, not Cormier’s.