Paul Craig News

Adam D Martin - August 22, 2021

Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson has been forced out of his scheduled UFC fight with Paul Craig. Gustafsson was set to take on Craig in a high-profile 205lbs bout set for the September 4 card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, MMAjunkie.com reports that Gustafsson has been forced to withdraw from the event due to an undisclosed injury. With “The Mauler” now off of the card, Craig has been left without an opponent. There is no immediate word yet on if the UFC will keep Craig on the September 4 card, or if the promotion will look to remove him from the event and re-book the fight against Gustafsson fight for a later date. For Craig’s sake, he will likely hope he can stay on the card instead.

Harry Kettle - July 29, 2021

The September 4 UFC event that was originally scheduled to take place in London is reportedly moving back to Las Vegas. Sin City has been home to the majority of UFC cards since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic but after more than 16 months away, the promotion had been hoping to make a long-awaited return to London – a city they tend to visit every single year.

Adam D Martin - July 1, 2021

Former UFC light heavyweight title contender Alexander Gustafsson is set to return to the Octagon this fall when he faces off with Paul Craig. Gustafsson recently hinted that he was making a comeback, and he’ll do so on September 4 when he takes on the BJJ wizard Craig at UFC London. Frontkick.Online was the first to break the news about the Gustafsson vs. Craig fight. BJPenn.com earlier in the day confirmed that the September 4 card is scheduled to take place in London, with the other new addition of a bantamweight matchup between Nathaniel Wood and Jonathan Martinez.

Adam D Martin - June 15, 2021

Jamahal Hill doesn’t blame referee Al Guinee at UFC 263, saying that “he gave me a chance to try to pull off something spectacular.” Hill had his arm dislocated by a first-round armbar by Craig in their UFC 263 pay-per-view opener. Craig pulled guard and was quickly able to get Hill into a vulnerable position with his limb, which led to it being dislocated. However, the referee didn’t see the injury and the fight continued, with Craig continuing to rain down blows on his opponent’s head while he was in his guard. The referee then finally stopped the fight due to TKO (punches).

Adam Martin - June 13, 2021

UFC light heavyweight contender Paul Craig received his BJJ black belt following his spectacular finish over Jamahal Hill at UFC 263. Craig pulled guard in the first round of his main card fight against Hill on Saturday night and quickly proceeded to pull off one of the most stunning finishes we have seen on the ground in quite some time. Craig was able to grab a hold of Hill’s arm and he dislocated it with an armbar, but the referee didn’t see the injury, nor did he see Hill’s attempt at a tap, and the fight continued on, with Craig raining down hammer fists while having Hill tied up with a triangle. The referee, Al Guinee, then stopped the fight due to TKO (punches).

Adam Martin - June 13, 2021

UFC light heavyweight Jamahal Hill praised “warrior” opponent Paul Craig following his brutal submission loss at UFC 263. Hill had his arm dislocated by a first-round armbar submission attempt by Craig in their UFC 263 pay-per-view fight. Craig pulled guard and was able to grab a hold of Hill’s arm, and he was able to dislocate it with a nasty submission. However, referee Al Guinee didn’t see the arm dislocate, and he also missed Hill tapping out, and the fight continued for a few more seconds, with Paul pounding Hill out with hammer fists and winning via TKO. It was an absolutely brutal submission and it temporarily cost Hill the use of his arm. Fortunately, the arm wasn’t broken, but he lost the fight as the favorite nonetheless.

Christopher Taylor - June 12, 2021

Light heavyweight prospect Jamahal Hill has issued a statement following his nasty TKO loss to Paul Craig at tonight’s UFC 263 event. Hill (8-1 MMA) had entered Saturday’s contest with hopes of keeping his perfect record in check. In his most recent previous this past September, ‘Sweet Dreams’ scored a second-round TKO victory over Ovince Saint Preux to extend his then-perfect record to 8-0.

Christopher Taylor - June 12, 2021

A light heavyweight bout between Paul Craig and Jamahal Hill kicked off tonight’s UFC 263 pay-per-view main card from Arizona. Craig will enter tonight’s event sporting a four-fight unbeaten streak, his latest bout ending in a TKO victory over Shogun Rua at UFC 255. The Scottish standout has gone 4-1-1 over his past six Octagon appearances ahead of tonight’s contest.

Adam D Martin - June 10, 2021

UFC light heavyweight contenders Jamahal Hill and Paul Craig got into a heated confrontation ahead of their fight at this weekend’s UFC 263. Craig is the No. 14 ranked light heavyweight in the UFC and Hill is ranked No. 15, so this is an important fight at 205lbs. The fight kicks off the pay-per-view portion of the UFC 263 card, but ahead of this weekend’s fight, the two rivals got into a heated confrontation at the UFC fighter hotel. Check out what Hill and Craig did when they ran into each other.

Tom Taylor - March 10, 2021

The upcoming UFC Vegas 22 card has lost a light heavyweight fight between Scotland’s Paul Craig and American Jamahal Hill, which would have served as the evening’s co-main event. Craig announced this news on Instagram on Wednesday, claiming that Hill withdrew from the fight, and noting that the bout has already been rescheduled by the promotion.

Adam Martin - January 15, 2021

UFC light heavyweight contender Paul Craig returns to the Octagon when he takes on rising star Jamahal Hill. Craig and Hill are ranked right next to each other in the lower half of the top-15 in the UFC’s 205lbs division, with Craig No. 14 and Hill at No. 15, so this is the perfect fight when it comes to the rankings. MMAjunkie.com was the first to confirm that Craig will fight Hill on March 20. That’s the UFC Fight Night card featuring Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev in the main event. Craig vs. Hill figures to take a place on the evening’s main card, and could potentially even serve as the co-main.

Adam D Martin - November 29, 2020

UFC light heavyweight Anthony Smith said that following his tapout win over Devin Clark at UFC Vegas 15, he wants to fight Paul Craig next. Smith put on a stunning performance on Saturday night at UFC Vegas 15 as he tapped out Clark in the first round with a vicious triangle choke. For Smith, it was a badly-needed win after getting steamrolled by Glover Teixeira and Aleksandar Rakic in his last two fights. It was the kind of win that makes people remember why Smith was so highly-ranked in the first place, and although Clark was an unranked fighter, beating him so impressively should result in Smith facing a ranked foe next time out.

Tom Taylor - July 27, 2020

Former UFC light heavyweight champion and MMA legend Shogun Rua is interested in a rematch with Scottish contender Paul Craig. Shogun competed in the co-main event of last Saturday’s UFC Fight Island 3 card, defeating fellow Brazilian legend Antonio Rogerio Nogeuira by split decision. The bout, which marked the third time the pair met, also served as the final fight of Nogeuira’s career.

Tom Taylor - July 26, 2020

UFC Fight Island 3, which went down Saturday night on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, was packed to the edges with finishes. In fact, the card was so rife with finishes that the promotion opted to give out six performance of the night bonus checks instead of the traditional two performance of the night bonus checks and two fight of the night bonus checks.

Harry Kettle - October 30, 2019

UFC light heavyweight Paul Craig will step in to face Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in the co-main event of UFC São Paulo, UFC has announced. The card is scheduled to take place on November 16 at Ginásio do Ibirapuera, with the headliner pitting Jan Błachowicz against Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. The co-main event was also set to be a light heavyweight showcase with Sam Alvey facing Rua, but now, it’ll be “Bearjew” Craig that steps in for the biggest fight of his life.

Cole Shelton - June 26, 2019

Alonzo Menifield did not want to be on the UFC Minneapolis card on Saturday. He was hoping to fight sooner. The light heavyweight last fought back in January, when he knocked out Vinicius Moreira at UFC Brooklyn. Since then, he has been wanting to fight, but this was the first offer that came. Now, the 31-year-old is looking to go 2-0 in the UFC and he believes he knows exactly how it will happen.

Tom Taylor - March 19, 2018

On Saturday afternoon, on the undercard of the UFC’s return to London, England, Scottish light heavyweight Paul Craig authored one of the most insane comebacks ever, surging back after being dominated for 14 minutes and 59 seconds to submit his foe Magomed Ankalaev with one second left in the fight. This bout marked the final obligation on Craig’s current UFC contract, and though his comeback win was truly incredible, he’s worried he won’t be offered a new contract, as he lost his two previous bouts in the Octagon rather decisively.

Tom Taylor - March 18, 2018

Last night, on the undercard of the UFC’s return to London, England, Scottish light heavyweight Paul Craig return to the Octagon opposite Russia’s Magomed Ankalaev. To say Craig had his back against the wall in this fight would be an understatement. After debuting in the Octagon with a first-round armbar of Henrique da Silva, Craig suffered back-to-back, first-round stoppage losses at the hands of Tyson Pedro and Khalil Rountree. In a matter of months, he’d tumbled from the ranks of the UFC’s most promising light heavyweight prospects to the undesirable company of fighters at risk of losing their jobs. As if the stakes weren’t already high enough, Craig’s London bout with Ankalaev also marked the final fight on his UFC contract, meaning a loss would almost certainly result in his being dropped by the promotion.