Paul Craig

Scottish submission savant Paul Craig got utterly stymied in his first main event opportunity, and his second middleweight fight in the UFC, when he ran into Brendan Allen. Craig still is ranked at 185-lbs and should fight another ranked middleweight with his 1-1 divisional record.

The only option ranked under him currently who is not booked is Anthony ‘Fluffy’ Hernandez. ‘Fluffy’ has a similar style to Brendan Allen in some ways; he can strikes but prefers to press forward, wrestle, and hunt a finish on the ground. Craig is more than willing to engage their due to his jiu-jitsu, but has been beaten there a few times now. To stay ranked he will need to prove he can grow as a fighter and overcome this hurdle.

Craig’s Next Fight: Anthony Hernandez

Jake Matthews

Matthews continued his recent streak of trading wins and losses when he lost by decision to undefeated prospect Michael Morales in UFC Vegas 82’s co-main event. The Australian has been a mainstay of the UFC welterweight division for a long time, building an impressive 12-7 record in the promotion. He has long put on exciting fights, making him a man consistently tapped for relatively big fights given his unranked status.

He will have to rebound from this loss, but the options are endless. Fighters like Max Griffin, Santiago Ponzinibbio, and Daniel Rodriguez have all lost two of their last three fights, just like Jake. All of these fighters could make for an exciting striking battle but also have well-rounded skills. Perhaps most sensible would be Max “Pain” Griffin, who also lost to Michael Morales in his last fight, putting him and Jake on a relatively even playing field in terms of their divisional position.

Matthews’ Next Fight: Max Griffin

Jordan Leavitt

Jordan ‘The Monkey King’ Leavitt chased a leg lock against submission specialist Chase Hooper, got his back taken, and got choked out to lose. He took it in good spirits as ever, made easier by his still-winning record in the UFC of 4-3. Leavitt could fight any number of athletes in the stacked lightweight waters.

Chilean fighter Ignacio Bahamondes has a similar record in the UFC of 3-2, but brings an entirely different style to the table with his electric kickboxing. That fight would be a true clash of styles and give one man back an upward trajectory in the division after both lost their last fight.

Leavitt’s Next Fight: Ignacio Bahamondes

Nick Aguirre

Aguirre had success early but ultimately lost to prospect Payton Talbott in his second of two UFC bouts. His back is against the wall now and he will need to win his next fight in order to keep his job with the promotion. He will be matched against a fellow inexperienced fighter again, many of whom just won contracts on the newest season of Dana White’s Contender Series.

Victor Hugo was meant to debut two weeks ago against Daniel Marcos but his weight miss caused the bout to be canceled. Marcos still needs to compete in his first UFC fight, and if he can get his weight in order then perhaps Aguirre would be a good opponent.

Aguirre’s Next Fight: Victor Hugo

Luana Pinheiro

Ninth-ranked strawweight Luana Pinheiro lost for the first time in the UFC to hard-nosed veteran Amanda Ribas. After comfortably winning the first round, Pinheiro lost all momentum as Ribas’ pace, pressure, and toughness wore her down until Amanda got the finish in the third. Pinheiro still has a future at strawweight, especially since the fight before this was a win over veteran contender Michelle Waterson-Gomez, but will probably need to dip her toes into the unranked waters before coming back to fighting ranked foes.

Two unranked strawweights on two-fight UFC winning streaks are Loma Lookboonmee and Viktoria Dudakova. Lookboonmee is a Muay Thai specialist who is developing a well-rounded skillset and got her first career submission in her last fight. Dudakova is undefeated at 8-0, two fights into her UFC contract. With under ten fights, perhaps it would be better to build Viktoria up slower and give Lookboonmee the opportunity to fight for a ranked spot against Pinheiro.

Pinheiro’s Next Fight: Loma Lookboonmee

Uroš Medić

Uroš Medić’s two-fight winning streak was snapped as he lost for the first time in his new division, welterweight, against short notice debutant Myktybek Orolbai Uulu. Medić old weakness to grappling got exposed as the Kygystani fighter took him down and submitted the Serb in the second round.

Medić’s fight before this one still proved he can be a force in the division as he beat the more experienced and strongly favored Matt Semelsberger in an all-out war. Uroš has shown to be all-action, just like fellow welterweight Li Jingliang, who would make a perfect opponent for his next fight coming off of his loss to Daniel Rodriguez. No matter what card it appears on, that fight would be a surefire ‘Fight of the Night’ shortlist member.

Medić’s Next Fight: Li Jingliang

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Allen has positioned himself as a potential future title challenger with his 10-2 UFC record and six-fight winning streak. The Louisiana native has an incredibly well-rounded skillset, able to finish the fight with his fists or his jiu-jitsu. He ran into a man who is much the opposite, a lethal weapon with his BJJ but with less than stellar striking, the Scotsman Paul Craig. Craig had been a light-heavyweight his whole career until he moved down in early 2023. His first middleweight fight was a success as he finished fellow BJJ ace Andre Muniz. The ‘Bearjew’ looked to continue that and push into the top end at 185-lbs.

The fight began as a low-paced striking match; Allen landed a few decent punches and missed some bigger ones. He clinched up with Craig a minute in and landed some knees but Craig pushed Allen to the fence and went for a takedown. Allen responded with a hip throw that placed Paul firmly on the mat. Brendan almost got back mount but settled in half-guard. Craig went for a calf slicer from bottom which almost gave Allen a chance to get a rear-naked choke, but he instead went for a leg lock which gave Paul a chance to get to his feet. However on the feet Allen just lifted and threw the Scotsman to the mat again. Allen got on top in the guard of Craig and used the can opener to make him uncomfortable while controlling him until the end of the round.

An early striking exchange went Allen’s way in round two and that caused Craig to simply pull guard, which Brendan Allen obliged. From on top he landed a big elbow that split open Paul’s eyebrow. Blood flowed onto the mat as Allen completed a strong pass to half-guard and then full mount. Craig managed to regain half-guard, which saved him from the arm triangle attempt that Allen put on him. Despite failing at his submission, Allen still rained down sharp elbows and short punches while maintaining a low and heavy top control. Brendan got a late back-take and choke attempt, which was halted by the end-of-round buzzer.

The third round began with Allen smacking Craig with a right hand. Allen crashed into the clinch and locked up a guillotine choke. He dropped down on it but Craig got his head out. However the Scotsman was wilting by this point and Allen easily transitioned to a back take. The rear-naked choke came quick and Paul Craig was forced to tap.

A six-fight winning streak gives Brendan Allen one of the best arguments at a title fight if he can get one more win against a top-five contender. He has finished five out of six fights on this winning streak and will surely find himself with a significantly higher ranking at middleweight come the rankings update on Tuesday.

Official Result: Brendan Allen def. Paul Craig by Submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 0:38 

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It’s somewhat strange to both write and read that sentence, given Craig was so well-known as a light heavyweight throughout his UFC run. But having made the move to middleweight, Craig had already been earning dividends, and landed in his first-ever main event for the UFC against Allen, a former LFA champ.

“All In” Allen isn’t one to talk trash or dazzle anyone outside the cage, but inside the octagon, his skill, especially on the ground, has proven sublime. Five straight wins at 185, and four of those by submission (all four rear-naked chokes) show exactly what Brendan Allen is about.

Of course, Paul Craig has been no slouch on the ground either over the years. Making for a very promising match-up atop UFC Vegas 82.

In the co-main event, meanwhile, Australian welterweight Jake Matthews took on undefeated Brazilian standout Michael Morales.

Following UFC Vegas 82 on Saturday, November 18, 2023, tune in for the post-fight press conference to stay on top of all the latest developments. A live stream of the affair is available in the embed above.

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The card had the promotion once again holed up at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, with welterweights Michael Morales and Jake Matthews anchoring the co-main event. Also featured, Chase Hooper, Amanda Ribas, Jonathan “JSP” Pearce, and many more.

Weigh-ins for UFC Vegas 82 go down Friday in Las Vegas, getting underway at 12PM ET, 9AM PT. Full results from Friday’s official (and only) weigh-in can be found below.

Three misses at the scale on Friday, though given an extra hour, Ailin Perez got in under the limit, leaving two fighters heavy for UFC Vegas 82.

UFC Vegas 82: Allen vs. Craig Weigh-In Results

Main Card

Middleweight: Brendan Allen (186) vs. Paul Craig (186)
Welterweight: Michael Morales (171) vs. Jake Matthews (170.5)
Lightweight: Chase Hooper (155.5) vs. Jordan Leavitt (155.5)
Bantamweight: Payton Talbott (136) vs. Nick Aguirre (136)
Women’s Strawweight: Luana Pinheiro (115.5) vs. Amanda Ribas (115.5)
Welterweight: Uroš Medić (171) vs. Myktybek Orolbai (170)

Preliminary Card

Featherweight: Jonathan Pearce (145.5) vs. Joanderson Brito (145)
Bantamweight: Chad Anheliger (134.5) vs. Jose Johnson (136)
Middleweight: Christian Leroy Duncan (186) vs. Denis Tiuliulin (186)
Heavyweight: Mick Parkin (262.5) vs. Caio Machado (250)
Featherweight: Jeka Saragih (146) vs. Lucas Alexander (148)*
Women’s Bantamweight: Lucie Pudilová (135.5) vs. Ailín Pérez (136)***
Lightweight: Trey Ogden (155.5) vs. Nikolas Motta (155)
Flyweight: Charles Johnson (125) vs. Rafael Estevam (128)**

* Lucas Alexander weighed in two pounds over the featherweight non-title limit

** Rafael Estevam weighed in two pounds over the flyweight non-title limit

*** Ailin Perez weighed in two pounds over the bantamweight non-title limit, and was given an additional hour to make weight, which she did successfully.

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He’s made the cut once before and has his ideal playbook of how to make the weight and still perform on Saturday night.

“We had the gold standard in London and that’s the way we’ve been running this kind of thing. If we can hit all the same numbers, all the same milestones, then we’ll be able to make middleweight and perform at the best of your abilities,” Craig told reporters on Wednesday.

“Right now we’re bang on the money. We’re setting gold standard. With regards to everything else like speed, power, all these attributes that help me be an athlete they are through the roof at the moment.”

The matchup with Allen puts together two high-level grapplers. While many believe it’ll be a grappling match Craig doesn’t see it that way.

“I think it’s a great matchup. Very rarely do you get the UFC making bad matchups. This is one of these battles where a lot of people are saying like it’s going to be a grappling battle. I don’t believe that,” said Craig.

“I believe this battle is going to be very much a standup battle. Who’s going to control the distance, who’s going to control the octagon and then from that who’s going to capitalize with these heavy shots. From that then it’ll be ended on the ground.”

Craig won’t be shy to stand with Allen and then force the fight to the ground to end the fight.

“So it’ll be one on the feet ended on the ground.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Paul Craig above. He takes on Brendan Allen at UFC Vegas 82.

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“It wasn’t a middleweight fight,” Allen told reporters when asked about Khamzat Chimaev and Kamaru Usman fighting at UFC 294. The bout pushed Chimaev higher in the rankings following his victory over Usman.

“They weighed in at 85, but they’re both 170s.”

Controversy over rankings, or the way they’re put together, isn’t new as many other athletes have voiced displeasure over them before. Allen took aim, albeit jokingly, at the panel responsible for voting on rankings.

“I don’t know if anyone here’s on the panel, but if you do, I don’t like you,” he said. Then he looked over to one member of the media.

“Are you the panel?” Allen asked. The reporter answered with a ‘maybe’, “I don’t like you then.”

“Yeah it’s bullsh*t. This guy (Chimaev) hasn’t beat an 85er. He hasn’t beat a 85er specially a ranked 85er. He beat the number one 170 guy. Cool congratulations. I think everyone can agree a 5-round fight Kamaru wins, and that was off the couch.”

This weekend at UFC Vegas 82 he faces Paul Craig a fellow ranked middleweight coming off a victory over Andre Muniz.

“I think everyone knows why this is a main event. It’s not for him. He’s just a good spot-filler I guess. He has a ok following,” said Allen.

“I think they realized I will be champion eventually. I’m 27. I still got plenty of time to go. I think they realize I will be the champion and we’re just taking the proper steps towards that.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Brendan Allen above. He takes on Paul Craig at UFC Vegas 82 on Saturday night.

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The UFC made the announcement on Tuesday.

Allen (22-5) has been on fire riding a 5-fight win streak with 4 of those victories coming via submission. Big wins over Andre Muniz, Bruno Silva and Krzysztof Jotko bolster what is already an impressive win streak in the UFC.

Craig (17-6-1) is coming off a second round TKO finish of Muniz in July. That win snapped a two-fight losing streak which is preceded by a 4-fight win streak with victories over Shogun Rua, Nikita Krylov and UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill.

Both men look to jump into the top 5 of the division with a decisive victory and challenge champion Israel Adesanya. Adesanya is scheduled to defend his title against Sean Strickland at UFC 293.

UFC Vegas 82’s fight card is currently as follows:

• Brendan Allen vs. Paul Craig
• Amanda Ribas vs. Luana Pinheiro
• Jordan Leavitt vs. Chase Hooper
• Kyung Ho Kang vs. John Castaneda
• Christian Leroy Duncan vs. Cesar Almeida
• Ottman Azaitar vs. Darrius Flowers
• Nikolas Motta vs. Trey Ogden
• Nick Aguirre vs. Payton Talbott

The post Brendan Allen vs. Paul Craig Set For UFC Vegas 82 On Nov 18 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Tom Aspinall

Tom Aspinall looked better than ever in his rebound fight against Marcin Tybura, stopping the Pole in just 73 seconds in the main event of UFC London. Already known for his hand speed and technical striking, Aspinall looked like a new version of himself in his return from a brutal MCL tear in his last fight against Curtis Blaydes. This fight did not disappoint the fans in London like that last one and Aspinall looks just about ready for a title shot in the relatively thin heavyweight division.

In his post-fight interview Tom called for the winner of Cyril Gane and Sergei Spivac, who have a bout coming up in Paris in September. Gane was once touted as the heir apparent to the heavyweight division, but his wrestling woes are now well-documented and Aspinall has stepped into his place as the brightest young talent in the weight. Aspinall has also already beaten Spivac with ease, making a rematch somewhat uninteresting.

The real interesting tests for Aspinall are Curtis Blaydes and Sergei Pavlovich. Pavlovich has earned a title shot and is just waiting on the winner of Jon Jones vs Stipe Miocic for his turn. However, Jones and Miocic are both getting up there and the winner may retire after their next fight. If this happens, Aspinall vs Pavlovich makes sense as the fight for the vacant strap in early 2024. If not, then Pavlovich should face the winner while Aspinall fights the winner of Curtis Blaydes and Jailton Almeida to determine who is next in line. Its a complicated situation, but it makes sense.

Aspinall’s Next Fight: Pavlovich for Vacant Belt OR Winner of Blaydes/Almeida

Julija Stoliarenko

The Lithuanian armbar specialist played spoiler to one time star Molly McCann in the co-main event of UFC London, taking down and submitting the home country favorite in just under two minutes. She improves to 2-5 in the UFC, 1-0 at flyweight, but still has a lot of work to do to battle back to .500.

If she stays at flyweight then one potential opponent is fellow European fighter Ivana Petrović out of Croatia. Petrović lost her UFC debut to Luana Carolina and needs a win to get up to .500, just like Stoliarenko. Both women have their jobs on the line and a grappling-heavy skillset, making for an interesting stylistic clash. Petrović’s loss came only a few weeks ago, so she is likely on a similar timeline for her next bout as Julija, barring injury.

Stoliarenko’s Next Fight: Ivana Petrović

Nathaniel Wood

Nate Wood turned in another great fight in his new division as he eked out a unanimous decision over Andre Fili in a ‘Fight of the Night’ contender. Wood and Fili were both hurt on multiple occasions in the fight, which had a thrilling first two rounds before a more measured third. Nate Wood is now 3-0 at featherweight in the UFC and might just be ready for a ranked opponent.

Fighters like Alex Caceres, Bryce Mitchell, and Giga Chikadze would all be potential opponents to welcome Wood to the shark tank that is the featherweight top-15. Maybe the best option is Bryce Mitchell, who needs to fight down to rebound from his first career loss, a submission against now-top contender Ilia Topuria. Mitchell is ranked thirteenth in the division and brings a wrestling-heavy style to the octagon, which is a challenge that Wood has not really faced yet in the UFC, let alone at featherweight. Its a test that all prospects have to pass at some point on their path to UFC gold, so why not now?

Wood’s Next Fight: Bryce Mitchell

Paul Craig

Paul ‘Bearjew’ Craig stormed the middleweight top fifteen and captured a ranking successfully when he stopped fellow grappling specialist Andre Muniz in round two. The Scotsman showed improved wrestling as he took down the fourteenth ranked Muniz, mounted him, and finished him with ground and pound in an impressive display. Craig has said he wants to be active at both middleweight and light-heavyweight, but 185-lbs really seems like the division for him after that performance, a rebound from a knockout loss to Johnny Walker, especially since guys like Walker at 205-lbs are so much bigger than Craig.

Craig will be ranked at least number fourteen at middleweight this coming week and ahead of him in the rankings there are several contenders with styles that will challenge Craig in different ways. One example is number ten Jack Hermansson, a fighter with a Greco-Roman wrestling background and a well-rounded skillset. Hermansson is coming off of a loss to Roman Dolidze and is 2-3 in his last five, so fighting down in the rankings against a divisional newcomer makes sense for his next fight. The skillful grappling and serviceable striking of both fighters should make for a well-matched bout.

Craig’s Next Fight: Jack Hermansson

Fares Ziam

A relatively slow fight resulted in a competitive decision win for Frenchman Fares Ziam over Jai Herbert. Ziam will not earn many new fans with that performance but he now has a quite respectable 4-2 record in the UFC and may look to make a quick turnaround at UFC Paris in September. The UFC likes to fill these cards with fighters from the home country against other Europeans, so one option for an opponent from Europe who is also on a two-fight winning streak in the promotion is Mateusz Rębecki from Poland. Rębecki looks like a promising contender with an 18-1 record in MMA and no losses since 2014, so a fighter with six UFC fights like Ziam is a logical next step for his career. As for Ziam, he needs to prove he can stop a strong wrester like Rębecki from taking him down, as that is a style he has had issues with in the past.

Ziam’s Next Fight: Mateusz Rębecki

Lerone Murphy

Undefeated British featherweight prospect Lerone Murphy put on an impressive performance in decisively beating Joshua Culibao at UFC London on Saturday. Murphy now is on a five-fight winning streak at featherweight in the promotion and seems ready for a ranked challenge. One such challenge is twenty-eight fight UFC veteran Alex Caceres, who is ranked fifteenth in the division. Caceres has grappling chops but is primarily a striker, so a fight between him and Lerone would likely be thrilling but also potentially test the British kickboxer’s takedown defense which has appeared flawed at times in the past.

Murphy’s Next Fight: Alex Caceres

Daniel Marcos

Peruvian bantamweight Daniel Marcos won a controversial split decision over veteran Davey Grant to open the main card of UFC London. Regardless of fans’ opinions on the scorecards, Marcos now is 2-0 in the UFC and 15-0 overall as a professional. Those records will ensure him a high profile, but still unranked, opponent in his next fight.

Bantamweight is arguably the most stacked division in the UFC and as such there are a plethora of opponents to choose from that could get Marcos closer to a ranking. One such fighter is fellow prospect Montel Jackson, who is riding a four-fight winning streak and is 7-2 overall in the UFC. Jackson is a strong wrestler, which is a style Marcos has not been challenged with in the UFC yet, and if he gets past this test he could be in line for a top-15 opponent next.

Marcos’ Next Fight: Montel Jackson

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“Bearjew” made it clear that the reason for moving down to middleweight was because he felt undersized against his fellow light heavyweights, especially in his last outing against Johnny Walker.

For his first fight at 185lbs, Craig was matched with someone with a very similar grappling style to his own, Andre Muniz. Because of this, it was unclear how the fight would go. Throughout fight week, Craig made it clear that he thought because of them both being submission specialists, the fight would end up being a striking match.

Craig displayed a complete performance, picking up only his fourth win by TKO. Someone who was in attendance for the fight was Khamzat Chimaev. The star has recently had his middleweight move confirmed, booking a fight with Paulo Costa.

After his win, Craig explained how he thinks a fight between himself and Chimaev would go, whilst also making a mention of all other 185lbers. “Everybody in the middleweight division has an opportunity to fight me. Who knows where we’ll be put in the division, maybe we’re back in the top 15 and number nine in the light heavyweights, maybe in the top 15 in middleweights, we’ll find out Monday.

“But anybody in front of me, that’s who I’m looking to take on and if it is Khamzat and he takes me down, there’s a good chance that he’s going to get triangled,” Craig said.

Depending on where Craig finds himself ranked come Monday morning, a match-up with Chimaev could be not too far down the line. Having said that, the Scottish fighter wants to fight at both middleweight and light heavyweight which makes proceedings fairly awkward in terms of rankings.

Watch the full UFC London post fight press conference with Paul Craig above.

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Back in the win column, back claiming victory on a big hometown card — and back in the bonus money as well. Aspinall, who took a little over a minute to put away Marcin Tybura, picked up one of two Performance of the Night bonuses handed out on Saturday, a card that marked the UFC’s second visit to the o2 Arena in London, England this year.

Aspinall has become a big part of the UFC’s London shows, headlining three of them. But a knee injury suffered last summer against Curtis Blaydes put the British heavyweight on the shelf for a year. His return Saturday night showed no sign of ring rust, however — he was simply too fast, and too explosive, for Poland’s Tybura to contend with.

The other Performance of the Night bonus at UFC London went to Paul Craig, with the Scotsman making his middleweight debut. Like Aspinall, he found the TKO finish, pounding out Andre Muniz midway through the second round.

Fight of the Night honors at UFC London went to Danny Roberts and Jonny Parsons. It was Parsons putting “Hot Chocolate” down in the second round, but not before the pair had engaged in a hard-hitting, back-and-forth battle.

All four bonus winning fighters pocket an extra $50,000 for their efforts.

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