Scottish legend Paul Craig retired from MMA on sixth September 2025 after a knockout loss to Modestas Bukauskas within the first spherical.
Regardless of the defeat, the Paris crowd gave the Scotsman a standing ovation once they noticed him place his gloves within the centre of the Octagon, giving him a send-off he actually deserved.
Identified for his high-level Brazilian jiu-jitsu, ‘Bearjew’ introduced a ‘kill or be killed’ mindset into each combat. With 21 bouts within the UFC, 17 led to a end. This perspective turned the Scotsman right into a fan favorite as they knew, win or lose, Paul Craig would ship an entertaining combat.
Paul Craig The Champion Killer
Craig boasts a powerful resume, having completed three former or future champions.
Down on all three judges’ scorecards, Craig submitted the previous mild heavyweight champion, Magomed Ankalaev, by way of triangle choke in actually the final second of the ultimate spherical of their fight in March 2018.
This grew to become the Scotsman’s trademark end. No matter whether or not he was dropping the combat, all he wanted was one second to catch his opponent in a triangle choke, and the combat was over. Because of this high quality, Craig holds the document for the most wins via triangle choke in UFC history (4).
Quick-forward to November 2020, ‘Bearjew’ knocked out former champion Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua within the second spherical. The Scotsman adopted this up with a win over future champion Jamahal Hill in what was his most weird and brutal end of all.
Craig caught Hill in an armbar and dislocated the American’s elbow, however Hill refused to faucet. ‘Bearjew’ then transitioned to a triangle choke to complete the combat, and but Hill continued to punch Craig along with his solely remaining useful arm. At this level, Craig delivered a succession of hammer fists and elbows to the trapped head of Hill, forcing the referee to intervene.
The Title Shot That Eluded Paul Craig
Sadly for Craig, this win streak got here to an finish in a unanimous resolution loss towards Volkan Oezdemir. Had he received that combat, he would probably have been awarded a title shot, which eluded him for the remainder of his UFC profession.
Regardless of this, Craig ought to maintain his head up excessive for what he achieved in his profession. Essentially the most triangle chokes and the third most Efficiency of the Evening bonuses in UFC historical past (8) isn’t unhealthy for a former highschool trainer.
