Paul Craig has decided to give middleweight a try.
After undergoing a successful test cut to 185 pounds, former light heavyweight contender Craig (16-6-1 MMA, 8-6-1 UFC) will move down a division to face Andre Muniz (23-5 MMA, 5-1 UFC) on July 22 at The O2 in London, promotion officials announced Thursday morning. The matchup was first reported by Super Lutas.
Middleweight debut!@PaulCraig hitting the 185lb limit to face Andre Muniz at #UFCLondon
🎟️ Register for tickets now: https://t.co/wg9VkLrW9A pic.twitter.com/Z6cb56hoCb
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) May 18, 2023
Craig’s decision comes after dropping back-to-back fights to Volkan Oezdemir and Johnny Walker. Prior to that, the 35-year-old Scottish fighter was unbeaten in six fights, including a finish of current light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill.
“We had this idea of going to middleweight, not because light heavyweight is done, but just the way light heavyweight is sitting at the moment, there’s not a lot of fights above me who I’m going to get to fight,” Craig said in a recent episode of his “Leather’d Podcast.”
Muniz saw his nine-fight winning streak snapped by Brendan Allen in his past outing, which headlined UFC Fight Night 220 in February. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace’s run included wins over Ronaldo Souza and Uriah Hall.
With the addition, here is the updated UFC London card on July 22:
- Tom Aspinall vs. Marcin Tybura
- Molly McCann vs. Julija Stoliarenko
- Yanal Ashmouz vs. Chris Duncan
- Jai Herbert vs. Fares Ziam
- Davey Grant vs. Daniel Marcos
- Mick Parkin vs. Jamal Pogues
- Joel Alvarez vs. Marc Diakiese
- Pannie Kianzad vs. Ketlen Vieira
- Jonny Parsons vs. Danny Roberts
- Josh Culibao vs. Lerone Murphy
- Andre Fili vs. Nathaniel Wood
- Paul Craig vs. Andre Muniz
