Paul Craig says his UFC blockbuster with Johnny Walker in Brazil has been 10 years in the making.
And the Airdrie MMA star jokes that he’ll take the hatred of a partisan crowd in Rio at UFC 283 on Saturday, January 21, if it means he can enjoy the Brazilian sun in January.
This is the first of a bumper six-fight contract signed with UFC via Conor McGregor’s Paradigm Sports Management firm, and could put No.9 Craig back in the title reckoning against a fighter two places below him in the light-heavyweight division.
The bout at the Jeunesse Arena is one that Craig, 34, is looking forward to as he tackles “a Brazilian with a Scottish name”.
He said: “Johnny Walker called me out. We were meant to fight away back at the start of my career, when I first started fighting.
“He was staying in Aberdeen for maybe two years, we were meant to fight and it never happened, and then he moved away to Ireland.
“This was 10 years ago we were meant to fight and we’re now going to Brazil, in his homeland, to fight, so I’m looking forward to that.
“The Brazilian fans are a bit mental. They love their own, they get behind them. The boos and the jeers I got the last time in Brazil is something I’ll never forget, so I’m looking forward to having that again.
“I’ve had a good experience in Brazil before with the Shogun Tour, with a draw, but getting to travel the world is part of this journey as well, so I take the good with the bad.
“I ‘have’ to travel to Brazil in lovely, sunny weather in January – but I’ll also take the hatred from the Brazilian fans!”
On a serious note, Craig is also looking to get back on track, after Volkan Oezdemir ended his 5-0-1 streak in London in July.
He said: “We came off a loss from our London fight, and we were wanting to get out before the end of the year, but just with scheduling with the UFC they said they don’t have anything, and they were willing to pay us, without fighting.
“I don’t really want that, I would rather just fight. So they said they could make something in January.
“I got a lot of criticism for my last fight with Oezdemir. There was a lot of stuff going on in the background with regards to changing gyms, using a new coaching staff, leading into that fight camp, so that probably had a knock-on effect.
“Now, I’m working at a higher level, I’ve got my coach, my team round about me, so now I know where I’m going and what I need to do.
“I think I’m in a good place for the start of this fight camp.”
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