Rivalries: Paul Craig

Tempered expectations greeted Paul Craig when he arrived in the Ultimate Fighting Championship as an unbeaten but unproven commodity in 2016. Suffice to say he has maximized the opportunities that have been presented to him at the sport’s highest level.

The 35-year-old Scotsman will seek his first win in 490 days when he downshifts to 185 pounds and toes the line against Andre Muniz in a UFC Fight Night 224 middleweight showcase on Saturday at the O2 Arena in London. Craig enters the cage on the heels of back-to-back losses for just the second time in his career. He last appeared at UFC 283, where he succumbed to punches from Johnny Walker in the first round of their Jan. 21 encounter.

As Paul creeps toward his forthcoming battle with Muniz, a look at a few of the rivalries that have helped chart his course to this point:

Marcin Lazarz

The undefeated Craig improved to 8-0 and seized the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts light heavyweight championship when he deposed the Team Titan rep with a triangle choke in the first round of their BAMMA 23 co-headliner on Nov. 14, 2015 at Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham, England. Lazarz conceded defeat 3:51 into Round 1, where 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, knee 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.

Tyson Pedro

The promising Australian prospect kept his perfect professional record intact when he disposed of Craig with a volley of elbow strikes in the first round of their UFC 209 light heavyweight prelim on March 4, 2017 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. “Bearjew” bowed out 4:10 into Round 1. Pedro welcomed the previously unbeaten Scotsman into the clinch and blasted him there with standing elbows 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 adversary with thudding elbows until referee Marc Goddard had seen enough. It was his sixth consecutive first-round finish.

Magomed Ankalaev

An opportunistic and resourceful Craig pulled a proverbial rabbit out of his hat when he submitted Russian sambo practitioner with a Hail Mary triangle choke as part of the UFC Fight Night 127 undercard on March 17, 2018 at the O2 Arena in London. The end came 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. A dejected Ankalaev sat stunned in the center of the cage, struggling—like most onlookers—to process what had occurred.

Mauricio Rua

The onetime Pride Fighting Championships grand prix winner and former Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder fought to a split draw with Craig in their three-round UFC Fight Night 164 co-headliner on Nov. 16, 2019 at Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paul Brazil. Judge Guilherme Bravo struck a 28-28 scorecard, while two others saw it 29-28: Marcelo Vilheno for Craig, Sal D’Amato for Rua. A short-notice substitution for the injured Sam Alvey, Craig raced out to a fast start in the first round, where he countered a takedown from the Brazilian with a whizzer, set up a standing guillotine and then unloaded with power punches along the fence. Rua responded in the middle stanza, as he struck for a takedown and battered the former British Association of Mixed Martial Arts champion with hammerfists and short punches. Round 3 was difficult to score. Craig bailed on a takedown, accepted bottom position and seemed content to strike from his back. Rua remained on top for much of the frame but offered little in the way of meaningful offense. Craig rose to his feet in the waning moments, cut loose with his hands and delivered a takedown of his own, ultimately settling for a draw. The two men met for a second time a little more than a year later at UFC 255, where an even more shopworn “Shogun” was no match for Craig and submitted to punches in the second round of their rematch.