Andrew Brandon Craig (born January 15, 1986) is an American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

who most recently competed in the

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. A professional competitor since 2010, he has also competed for Bellator.

Background

Craig is from Houston, Texas, and grew up playing mainly football, but dabbled with a bunch of other sports too. He started football in the third grade, and played as

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. The ...

. He graduated

Stratford High School (Houston) Stratford High School is a secondary school in Houston, Texas, United States. The school is one of four high schools in the Spring Branch Independent School District (SBISD), the district's westernmost secondary school (serving grades 9 through 1 ...

before going to college at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

where he earned a degree in corporate communications. Craig began learning

Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting ( ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

from his cousin – Travis Tooke – who was already a black belt in the martial art. Without any other martial art background, Craig started training mixed martial arts as a college freshman. After graduating college, Craig began his career as a professional MMA fighter.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Craig made his professional debut in May 2010 for USA MMA winning his first fight via unanimous decision. His second fight was held at Bellator 27 against Rodrigo Pinheiro. Craig won the fight after the cageside doctor ruled Pinheiro unable to continue. Craig won two fights under the International Xtreme Fight Association banner before signing with the Texas-based promotion Legacy Fighting Championships.

Legacy Fighting Championships

Craig made his Legacy Fighting Championships debut on April 9, 2011, against William Bush for the Legacy Fighting middleweight title. In the fifth and final round, Craig won the fight via TKO. Craig was set to make his first title defense at Legacy Fighting 8 against Bellator and WEC veteran, Eric Schambari. However, Schambari weighed in past the middleweight limit and the fight became a three round non-title fight. Craig won the fight via unanimous decision.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Craig made his UFC debut on short notice as an injury replacement for

Jared Hamman Jared Hamman (born March 7, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist that competes in the World Series of Fighting's Middleweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, he has also formerly competed for the UFC, Strikeforce and Sho ...

against Australian Kyle Noke on March 3, 2012, at

UFC on FX 2 ''UFC on FX: Alves vs. Kampmann'' (also known as ''UFC on FX 2'') was a mixed martial arts event held live by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday March 3, 2012 at the Allphones Arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Background ...

. Despite losing the first round, Craig came back to dominate the second and third rounds, winning via unanimous decision. Craig defeated

Rafael Natal Rafael Natal Diniz Franca () is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist. A professional from 2005 until 2017, he is best known for his 17-fight stint competing for the UFC. Mixed martial arts career Background Natal started Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ...

on July 11, 2012, at UFC on Fuel TV: Munoz vs. Weidman. After being rocked and controlled for the majority of the second round, Craig landed a head kick to capture a comeback

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

victory. In his third fight for the promotion, Craig faced

Ronny Markes Ronny Markes (born April 21, 1988), is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2007, Markes has formerly competed for the UFC, King of the Cage, PFL, Bellator MMA, and M- ...

on January 19, 2013, at UFC on FX 7. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. It was the first loss of his professional career. Craig defeated former WEC Middleweight Champion

Chris Leben Christian Cyrus Leben (born July 21, 1980) is an American former mixed martial artist, referee, and bare knuckle boxer. A professional MMA competitor from 2002 until 2013, he most notably competed in the UFC in the Middleweight division, compili ...

via split decision on July 6, 2013, at UFC 162. Craig took on English fighter Luke Barnatt in his next outing on October 26, 2013, at

UFC Fight Night 30 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. He lost the fight via submission in the second round. Despite the loss on his record, the fight also earned Craig his first ''Fight of the Night'' bonus award. Craig was expected to face Chris Camozzi on April 11, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 39. However, the fight was cancelled on the day of the weigh-ins as Craig was ruled out with an illness. Craig faced

Cezar Ferreira Cezar Jesus Ferreira (born February 15, 1985), better known in his home country Brazil as Cezar Mutante, is a mixed martial artist currently competing in the light heavyweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2007, he has competed fo ...

on June 28, 2014, at UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Stephens. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Craig was expected to face

Edgar Garcia Edgar is a commonly used English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Eadgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the later medieval period; it was, however, rev ...

in a welterweight bout on July 15, 2015, at

UFC Fight Night 71 ''UFC Fight Night: Mir vs. Duffee'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 71'') was a mixed martial arts event held on July 15, 2015, at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, California. Background The event was headlined by a heavyweight bout b ...

. However, Garcia was forced from the bout with injury and replaced by promotional newcomer

Lyman Good Lyman Merrill Good (born May 26, 1985), also known as "American Cyborg", is an American mixed martial artist. He is perhaps best known for his time spent with Bellator, where he was the inaugural Bellator Welterweight Champion. Good currently co ...

. Craig lost the fight via TKO in the second round and was subsequently released from the promotion following the loss.

Personal life

Craig works as a manager at Onnit.

Championships and accomplishments

*Legacy Fighting Championship **Legacy FC Middleweight Championship (One time) *

** Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Luke Barnatt

Mixed martial arts record

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Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

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São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

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San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

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Kinder, Louisiana Kinder is a small town in Allen Parish, Louisiana, in the United States. The population was 2,477 at the 2010 census. The Lieutenant Douglas B. Fournet Memorial Park, an American Legion enterprise, was dedicated on June 11, 1988, in Kinder ...

, United States ,

References

External links

* * * *
Instructor Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Craig, Andrew 1986 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Texas Middleweight mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Houston Moody College of Communication alumni