LONDON – Despite picking up an important win in his UFC middleweight debut, Paul Craig is not planning on abandoning light heavyweight.
Saturday, Craig (17-6-1 MMA, 9-6-1 UFC) made a successful drop to 185 pounds and stopped ranked contender Andre Muniz (23-6 MMA, 5-2 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 224 at The O2 in London. Many saw it as a new chapter in Craig’s career and the end of his days at 205 pounds.
However, the career move for the Scottish standout just opens up more title possibilities.
“We aren’t done at light heavyweight, and we’re just starting at middleweight,” Craig told reporters at the UFC Fight Night 224 post-fight news conference. “We will do both. It’s where the fights are. If the fights are at light heavyweight, then we’ll take it.
“We have a victory over Jamahal Hill. We have the only victory over (Magomed) Ankalaev. We have beaten (Nikita) Krylov, right, with a few bumps on the road in the light heavyweight division. But we’ll take both divisions. … Who knows what a year can do. Who knows what two years can do. But ultimately, we have another five years left in this company, and we’re going to leave the UFC with (a title), be it at middleweight or light heavyweight. But we’re coming for it.”
Craig entered UFC Fight Night 224 on a two-fight skid that saw him finished by Johnny Walker and outpointed by Volkan Oezdemir. Prior to the pair of defeats, Craig was on a four-fight winning streak.
When asked about the difficulty in managing weight for two different divisions, Craig said he and his team are more than ready to handle it. He doesn’t see competing in two different weight classes as a problem.
“From the science point of view, it’s not difficult at all,” Craig said. “If you’re going in here without a team, and you’re just doing it on your own, then you’re leaving it up to chance. Then it’s going to be difficult. But as long as you have a good team who are all doing their jobs, and they’re all pulling their weight, (it’s not difficult). If you’ve got one guy at the top of the helm who’s thrown off the leg of the table, then he’s going to throw off whatever is on that table.
“All the guys are there to support me, be it as training partners, coaches, mentors – they’re all there for Paul. That’s what makes it such a great team to be part in. That’s what makes going to middleweight or light heavyweight so much easier.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.
