Paul Felder was a scrappy kid who grew up in the Grays Ferry section of Philadelphia, before his family moved to Folsom, where he graduated from Ridley High School.

In retrospect, Felder’s interest in karate and martial arts was certainly a harbinger of his current career as a mixed-martial artist with the Ultimate Fighting Championship circuit.

At 31, the 5-foot-11, 155-pounder nicknamed the Irish Dragon is a father, and he recently discussed with PhillyVoice how that affects his craft.

“I lost my first two (fights) after having her,” Felder said of the birth of his daughter Aisling. “I think it was a worry on my mind when she was young, and I think it was a lot to deal with, and I was away from home, and I was missing her for the first few months of her life when I was getting ready for those fights.

“And now that she’s older, I think it’s more motivation.”

Felder, a lightweight whose record stands at 12-3, further discussed how fatherhood changed his mentality as a fighter.

“I would say that before her, it was probably more of just, ‘Man, I’m doing some crazy stuff and this is awesome,’” he said. “Now, it’s like, ‘Man, I’ve got to win so I can make thousands of dollars so I can go home and we can do stuff and make sure (our daughter’s) got what she needs.’

“It’s definitely much more — it really starts to feel like a job. A job I love, but a job. And I want to keep that job, and that means winning fights.”

Click here to read more about Paul Felder from PhillyVoice.