Paul Lindsey Craig (born 27 November 1987) is a Scottish

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 competes in the Light heavyweight 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 ...

(UFC). A professional competitor since 2013, Craig formerly competed for

BAMMA BAMMA (British Association of Mixed Martial Arts) was a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United Kingdom. It premiered on June 27, 2009, and was shown on the television channel Bravo. BAMMA events were shown live on ITV4 in the UK and I ...

, where he was the BAMMA World Light Heavyweight Champion. As of January 24, 2023, he is #10 in the UFC light heavyweight rankings.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Craig's head coach Brian Gallagher took him from no martial arts experience to 8–0 as an amateur, with each of his wins coming via first-round stoppage. As a professional, Craig went 8–0 over four years before being signed by the

UFC 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 ...

. In November 2014, Craig won a K1-rules fight in Germany. Craig won the

World Light heavyweight Championship at BAMMA 23 when he defeated Marcin Lazarz by submission. He was set to defend his title against Chris Fields in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, although the fight was postponed following the death of Portuguese fighter João Carvalho. The match up was rescheduled, but failed to take place due to Craig's damaging his ankle ligaments. Craig did not end up defending the title, as he signed a 4-fight deal with the

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Craig made his promotional debut against Luis Henrique da Silva on 17 December 2016 at UFC on Fox: VanZant vs. Waterson. He won the fight via submission in Round 2 and was awarded a ''Performance of the Night'' bonus. Craig faced

Tyson Pedro Tyson Pedro (born 17 September 1991) is an Australian mixed martial artist who competes in the Light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Pedro is an Australian of Spanish, American Samoa heritage. ...

on 4 March 2017 at

UFC 209 ''UFC 209: Woodley vs. Thompson 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on March 4, 2017, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Background The event wa ...

. He lost the bout via first-round TKO. Craig faced

Khalil Rountree Khalil Ibn Rountree Jr. (born February 26, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Rountree was born in Los Angeles, California. ...

at UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Ponzinibbio on 16 July 2017. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. Craig faced

Magomed Ankalaev Magomed Alibulatovich Ankalaev (russian: Магоме́д Алибула́тович Анкала́ев; born 2 June 1992) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist, who currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate ...

on 17 March 2018 at UFC Fight Night 127. He won the fight via submission at 4:59 in Round 3, resulting in the latest submission finish in a 3-round fight in UFC history. He was also awarded a ''Performance of the Night'' bonus. Following the win against Ankalaev, Craig signed a new, four-fight contract with UFC. Craig faced promotional newcomer

Jimmy Crute Jimmy Crute (born 4 March 1996) is an Australian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Crute was the former Australian Hex Fight Series Light Heav ...

on 2 December 2018 at

UFC Fight Night 142 ''UFC Fight Night: dos Santos vs. Tuivasa'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 142'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on 2 December 2018 at Adelaide Entertainment Centre in Adelaide, Sou ...

. He lost the fight via kimura in the third round. Craig faced promotional newcomer Kennedy Nzechukwu on 30 March 2019 at UFC on ESPN 2. He won the fight via submission due to a triangle choke in the third round. This win earned him the ''Performance of the Night'' award. Craig faced

Alonzo Menifield Alonzo Menifield (born October 18, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2015, he has formerly fought in Bellator and the ...

on 29 June 2019 a
UFC on ESPN 3: Ngannou vs. Dos Santos
He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. Craig faced

Vinicius Moreira Vinicius Moreira Castro (born February 28, 1989) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light heavyweight division. He is most known for his time spent fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background In ...

on 21 September 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 17. He won the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in the first round.> This win earn Craig his fourth ''

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

'' award. Craig stepped in on short notice to face

Maurício Rua Maurício Milani Rua (; born 25 November 1981), also known as Shogun, is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and former model. He competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a forme ...

on 16 November 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 22, replacing

Sam Alvey Samuel William Alvey (born May 6, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist, who competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Alvey has also formerly co ...

, who had withdrawn from the bout due to a broken hand. After three rounds, the back-and-forth fight was declared a split draw. Craig was expected to face

Ryan Spann Ryan Jamari Spann (born August 24, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2013, he has also fought for the Legacy Fight ...

on 21 March 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Woodley vs. Edwards. However, the event was cancelled. Craig faced

Gadzhimurad Antigulov Gadzhimurad Antigulov (born January 1, 1987) is a Russian mixed martial artist who currently competing in the Light Heavyweight division. A professional since 2009, he has fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), M-1 Global, and Abs ...

on 26 July 2020 at

UFC on ESPN 14 ''UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 14'' and ''UFC Fight Island 3'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 26, 2020 at the du Forum on Yas Island, Abu ...

. He won the fight via submission in round one. This win earned him the ''

'' award. Craig faced

in a rematch on 21 November 2020 at

UFC 255 ''UFC 255: Figueiredo vs. Perez'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 21, 2020 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United ...

. He won the fight via technical knockout in round two. Craig was scheduled to face

Jamahal Hill Jamahal Hill (born May 19, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of December 6, 2022, he is #7 in the UFC light heavyweight ...

on 20 March 2021

UFC on ESPN 21 ''UFC on ESPN: Brunson vs. Holland'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 21'' and ''UFC Vegas 22'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 20, 2021 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, N ...

. However on 10 March, Hill withdrew from the bout after testing positive for COVID-19. The match was rescheduled for 12 June 2021 at

UFC 263 ''UFC 263: Adesanya vs. Vettori 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 12, 2021, at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona, United States. Background The event was the second ...

. Craig won the bout via TKO in round one after snapping Hill's elbow with an armbar. This win earned him the ''

'' award. Craig was scheduled to face

Alexander Gustafsson Alexander Gustafsson (born 15 January 1987) is a Swedish professional mixed martial artist. Gustafsson currently competes in the light heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Gustafsson spent a major part of his MMA ...

on 4 September 2021 at

UFC Fight Night 191 ''UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Till'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 191 '' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 49'' and ''UFC Vegas 36'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 4, 2021 at the ...

. However, a week before the event, Gustafsson withdrew due to injury. Craig faced

Nikita Krylov Nikita Andreyevich Krylov (born March 7, 1992) is a Ukrainian-Russian mixed martial artist who competes in the light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional since 2012, he has also competed for M-1 Global. As ...

on March 19, 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 204 ''UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 204'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 62'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 19, 2022 at The O2 Arena in Lo ...

. He won the fight via a triangle choke in round one. With this win, he received the ''

'' award. Craig faced

Volkan Oezdemir Volkan Oezdemir (born 19 September 1989) is a Swiss professional mixed martial artist and former kickboxing practitioner. He currently competes in the Light heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competi ...

on July 23, 2022, at

UFC Fight Night 208 ''UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Aspinall'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 208'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 66'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 23, 2022, at The O2 Arena in Lon ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Craig faced Johnny Walker on January 21, 2023, at

UFC 283 ''UFC 283: Teixeira vs. Hill'' is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on January 21, 2023, at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Background The event will mark the p ...

. He lost the fight via technical knockout in the first round.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Craig competed in the 2015 British Pro Jiu Jitsu Championship, taking 1st place in the Purple Belt 95+ kg Division and qualifying for the

Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship The Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship (ADWPJJC), often simply called the Abu Dhabi World Pro, and from 2009 to 2014 known as the World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Cup (WPJJC), is an international Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition that ...

. He also took 3rd place in the Absolute Purple 75+ kg Division. After defeating Jamahal Hill in 2021, Craig was promoted to black belt. On 27/08/22, Craig defeated Sam Sweeney in a tough, back and forth sub only grappling match at Holytown Havoc 2. On September 24, Craig faced Jed Hue in the main event of Polaris 21. Craig was submitted with an ankle-lock 21 seconds.

Personal life

Paul played football before becoming an MMA fighter. He also worked as a football coach before becoming a teacher for an educational charity.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

(Seven times) **Second most submission wins in the UFC Light Heavyweight division history (6) **Most triangle choke submission wins in the UFC Light Heavyweight division history (4) *

** BAMMA World Light heavyweight Championship (One time) * MMAJunkie.com **2019 March Submission of the Month vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu *Jitsmagazine **2022 MMA Submission of the Year vs. Nikita Krylov at UFC on ESPN+ 62.

Mixed martial arts record

, Loss , align=center, 16–6–1 , Johnny Walker , TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:16 ,

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 16–5–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Aspinall , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 16–4–1 ,

, Submission (triangle choke) , UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:57 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 15–4–1 ,

, TKO (elbows and punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:59 , Glendale, Arizona, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–4–1 ,

, TKO (submission to punches) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:36 ,

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 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–4–1 ,

, Submission (triangle choke) , UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:06 , Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates , , - , Draw , align=center, ,

, Draw (split) , UFC Fight Night: Błachowicz vs. Jacaré , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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 ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 12–4 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Stephens , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:19 ,

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

, Mexico , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–4 ,

, KO (punches) , UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. dos Santos , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:19 , Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–3 , Kennedy Nzechukwu , Submission (triangle choke) , UFC on ESPN: Barboza vs. Gaethje , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:20 ,

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–3 ,

, Submission (kimura) , UFC Fight Night: dos Santos vs. Tuivasa , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:51 ,

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 ,

, Submission (triangle choke) , UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Volkov , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:59 ,

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–2 ,

Khalil Rountree Jr. Khalil Ibn Rountree Jr. (born February 26, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Rountree was born in Los Angeles, California. ...

, KO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Ponzinibbio , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:56 ,

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–1 ,

, TKO (elbows) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:10 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 , Henrique da Silva , Submission (armbar) , UFC on Fox: VanZant vs. Waterson , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:59 ,

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Marcin Łazarz , Submission (triangle choke) , BAMMA 23 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:51 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Karl Moore , Submission (guillotine choke) , BAMMA 22 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:48 ,

, Ireland , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Adam Wright , Submission (armbar) , Animalistic MMA: Rise of the Alpha , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:47 , Preston, England , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Andrzej Bachorz , Submission (brabo choke) , FightStar Championship 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:37 ,

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Dan Konecke , TKO (punches) , First Fighting Championship: Resurgence , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:18 ,

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, Scotland , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Jon Ferguson , Submission (triangle choke) , Full Contact Contender 10 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:50 ,

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Antonio Braga , Submission (triangle choke) , Underdog Xtreme Championships 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:41 ,

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

, Northern Ireland , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Brad Conway , Submission (triangle choke) , First Fighting Championship 3: Prepare For Glory , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:00 ,

, Scotland , , - , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Jeff Metcalfe , Submission (guillotine choke) , Supremacy Fight Challenge 8 , Nov 11, 2012 , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:46 , Gateshead, England , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Paul Bradshaw , Submission (triangle choke) , MMA Total Combat 50 , Oct 6, 2012 , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:41 , Sunderland, England , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Paul Bradshaw , Submission (armbar) , MMA Total Combat 48 , Jul 21, 2012 , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:26 , Sunderland, England , , -

Submission grappling record

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:80%; text-align:left;" , - , colspan=8 style="text-align:center;" , 2 Matches, 1 Wins, 1 Losses, 0 Draws , - ! Result ! Rec. ! Opponent ! Method ! text-center, Event ! Date ! Division ! Location , - , Loss , , align=center, 1-1, , Jed Hue , , Submisson, (Estima lock) , , Polaris 21: Grapple Island , , September 24, 2022 , , Openweight , , Cagliari, Italy , - , Win , , align=center, 1-0, , Sam Sweeney , , Submisson, (Rear Naked Choke) , , Holytown Havoc 2 , , August 8, 2022 , , Openweight , ,

Holytown Holytown ( sco, 'Holy-Town' - Holytown, gd, Baile a' Chuilinn)

, Scotland

See also
* List of current UFC fighters * List of male mixed martial artists

References

External links
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Craig, Paul 1987 births Living people Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Scottish male mixed martial artists British wushu practitioners Sportspeople from Airdrie, North Lanarkshire Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Mixed martial artists utilizing wushu Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Scottish practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu