LONDON – Paul Craig reigned supreme on the ground in what was a successful middleweight debut.
On the main card of UFC Fight Night 224 at The O2 in London, Craig (17-6-1 MMA, 9-6-1 UFC) had no issues tussling on the ground with high-level grappler Andre Muniz (23-6 MMA, 5-2 UFC) until he eventually got the finish. Craig scored a TKO stoppage of Muniz at the 4:40 mark of Round 2 (via Twitter):
PAUL CRAIG ELBOWS HIS WAY TO VICTORY 💪 #UFCLondon pic.twitter.com/8SAh74tYAl
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 22, 2023
In Round 1, both men exchanged kicks at a distance before Muniz landed a takedown in the final minute of the round. However, to kick off Round 2, Craig is the one that landed the takedown, but got caught in a triangle choke.
Craig fought out of it, and got taken down shortly after. Both men traded takedowns until Craig was able to pin Muniz down, transitioning from a D’Arce choke submission to full mount. Craig rained down vicious ground-and-pound elbows until the referee jumped in to waive the fight off.
With the win, Craig snapped a two-fight losing skid in what was his middleweight debut. “Bearjew” spent the first 23 fights of his professional career fighting at light heavyweight.
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 224 results include:
- Paul Craig def. Andre Muniz via TKO (elbows) – Round 2, 4:14
- Lerone Murphy def. Josh Culibao via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
- Daniel Marcos def. Davey Grant via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Jonny Parsons def. Danny Roberts TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:57
- Joel Alvarez def. Marc Diakiese via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 4:26
- Mick Parkin def. Jamal Pogues via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Makhmud Muradov def. Bryan Barberena via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Ketlen Vieira def. Pannie Kianzad via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Chris Duncan def. Yanal Ashmouz via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Bruna Brasil def. Shauna Bannon via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Jafel Filho def. Daniel Barez via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 1, 1:34
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.
