5 Defining Moments: Paul Craig

Long established as an exciting and dependable midcard performer for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Paul Craig now finds himself drifting more toward aging gatekeeper status in a middleweight division that seems to grow increasingly hostile by the day.

The Scottish Hit Squad product will set out in search of his first win in well over a year when he faces undefeated blue-chip American Top Team prospect Bo Nickal in a UFC 309 middleweight showcase on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York. Craig, 36, enters the cage on the heels of back-to-back defeats. He last saw action on May 4, when he suffered a knockout loss to Caio Borralho in the second round of their UFC 301 pairing.

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Ahead of Craig’s forthcoming clash with Nickal at 185 pounds, a look at five of the many moments that have come to define him:

1. View from the Top

“Bearjew” improved to 8-0 and seized the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts light heavyweight championship when he dethroned Marcin Lazarz with a triangle choke in the first round of their BAMMA 23 co-main event on Nov. 14, 2015 at Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham, England. Lazarz bowed out 3:51 into Round 1, as he was beaten for the first time in nearly three years. Active and light on his feet from the outset, the Pole probed Craig’s defenses with punches and leg kicks. He discovered no discernible weaknesses. Craig dragged him into a clinch, kneed the body and pushed him to the fence before securing a takedown. Lazarz soon returned to his feet and answered with a takedown of his own, unaware he had wandered into a carefully woven web from which there was no escape. Craig swept into top position immediately, sewed up the triangle during the subsequent scramble and tightened the choke for the finish.

2. Unblemished No More

Tyson Pedro disposed of the former British Association of Mixed Martial Arts champion with a volley of first-round elbows as part of the UFC 209 undercard on March 4, 2017 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Craig succumbed to blows 4:10 into Round 1, suffering his first setback as a pro. Operating in the shadows of the Tyron Woodley-Stephen Thompson rematch, Pedro welcomed the Scotsman into the clinch and blasted him with standing elbow strikes upstairs and knees to the body. He later floored Craig with a straight right hand and capitalized on a failed head-and-arm throw. Pedro quickly advanced to half guard once they hit the canvas, moved to a topside crucifix and smashed his counterpart with elbows until referee Marc Goddard had seen enough.

3. Buzzer Beater

The opportunistic Scotsman pulled the proverbial rabbit out of his hat when he submitted Magomed Ankalaev with a Hail Mary triangle choke in the third round of their featured UFC Fight Night 127 prelim on March 17, 2018 at the O2 Arena in London. Craig cinched the finish 4:59 into Round 3. The previously unbeaten Ankalaev was utterly dominant for all but a few seconds of the match. He outlanded Craig by a 59-18 margin in significant strikes and racked up nearly seven minutes of control time. It was all for naught. Ankalaev pressed his advantage in top position with time winding down in the third round but failed to keep his left arm out of harm’s way. Craig snatched the exposed appendage, clamped down on the triangle and prompted an unexpected tapout with one second remaining on the clock. In the immediate aftermath, a dejected Ankalaev sat stunned in the center of the cage.

4. Down with a Legend

Craig struck Mauricio Rua into submission in the second round of their UFC 255 rematch on Nov. 21, 2020 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Rua—who had fought “Bearjew” to a split draw at UFC Fight Night 164 a little more than a year earlier—raised the white flag 3:36 into Round 2. Craig executed a pair of takedowns in the first round, threatened with an anaconda choke and continued to build confidence against an all-time great. He delivered another takedown in the middle stanza, moved to the back, flattened out Rua and forced the 2005 Pride Fighting Championships middleweight grand prix winner to tap to unanswered punches.

5. All Choked Up

Former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Brendan Allen continued his ascent at 185 pounds when he dismissed Craig with a rear-naked choke in the third round of their UFC Fight Night 232 headliner on Nov. 18, 2023 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The end came 38 seconds into Round 3. Allen averted potential disaster in the first round when he escaped a calf slicer from the wily Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. From there, it was all one-way traffic. Allen dictated the terms in their grappling exchanges, hacked open an ugly cut on the Scotsman’s left eyebrow with an elbow strike and methodically established himself as the better fighter. He ripped into Craig with a two-punch combination at the start of the third round, forced his way into top position, moved to the back and bit down on the choke.