BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Paul Felder is stirring with frustration following his removal from Saturday’s UFC 223 lineup, and he’s torn about when he wants to get back in the octagon.

After Max Holloway was pulled from the main event against Khabib Nurmagomedov (25-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC), Felder (15-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) was one of the frontrunners to step in as a replacement. The New York State Athletic Commission ruled him out, though, because he’s an unranked fighter in the UFC’s official rankings.

Felder’s scheduled opponent, Al Iaquinta (13-3-1 MMA, 8-2 UFC), ultimately got the headlining spot, leaving “The Irish Dragon” as the odd man out. He described exactly how it all unfolded from his perspective, and how he’s now left in a bit of a pickle.

“I was the team at dinner, having some sushi and at first I was emotional and upset,” Felder told MMAjunkie on Friday. “Still feel that way, but what am I going to do? I made weight, so I’ll get my making weight money and stuff like that. I’ll be there. I’m still going to go and see this thing go down.

“Now I’m just scratching my head and, what card do I want to jump on? I booked all these commentary gigs. I’ve got like four of them lined up, but if I want to rush right back, and I’m in camp, I can’t do them. So I either just push my fight back and fight in September or something like that.”

UFC 223 takes place at Barclays Criterion Brooklyn, N.Y. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1.

Felder said it might take some time to collect himself for the next steps, but he has an idea of what he wants. He revealed the UFC is planning a trip to Milwaukee this year, and considering his training camp at Roufusport is located there, he said it would not only be fitting to be on the card – but to headline, as well.

“I know there’s rumors (the UFC is) going to Milwaukee,” Felder said. “I said to my manager, and it’s not that they owe me anything, but I feel they should at least give me another ranked opponent. I wasn’t really that high up on this card, because it was pay-per-view. I want a main event. Since I signed with UFC I wanted to main event something. So the way they can make it up to me is give me a good opponent, give me a five-round (expletive) fight, and let’s fight a five-rounder and headline a card and get my ass on a poster and let’s go.”

Felder said that after not getting Nurmagomedov and losing his opponent in Iaquinta, he resigned himself to the fact he would not be competing on the card. Anthony Pettis is another fighter who was left without an opponent after Thursday’s Conor McGregor melee, but considering he’s teammates with “Showtime,” he said there was no chance of that happening.

“(Nurmagomedov) was the only possibility,” Felder said. “Me and Anthony have done this whole entire camp together. We’re not going to (fight). Of course, my management said it right away, if it was even asked. No way.”

For Felder, it’s difficult to walk away from the situation without feeling what could have been. The UFC’s arbitrary rankings don’t have him in the top 15 (the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie rankings have him No. 15 at lightweight), and he admitted that’s probably the most difficult part to get over.

“Unfortunately the official UFC rankings have me not in the top 15,” Felder said. “A lot of other ones have me in the top 15. Other guys, who know what they’re talking about, have me in the rankings. But not the official UFC ones. That’s what this weekend was all about, getting that number. If I was ranked in the top 15, I think I’m fighting Khabib for the championship tomorrow night.”

For more on UFC 223, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.