UFC star Paul Craig promises there will be blood as he fights for his future
Craig from Airdrie will take on Rodolfo Bellato in Atlanta, with a new contract riding on it
Paul Craig is determined to prove he has a future in UFC – and expects there to be a lot of blood when he faces Rodolfo Bellato in Atlanta on Saturday.
Airdrie fighter Craig, 37, is effectively fighting for a new contract at UFC Atlanta, in his 21st fight, and reckons he's better prepared than ever before as he bids to stop a three-fight losing streak.
Craig said: 'Rodolfo is a good jiu-jitsu practitioner, but he's not outstanding, and I do believe ours is far superior to his.
'With regards to striking, he loves to rush forward, loves to fling his straight shots, do this jumping knee.
'I do believe that our game plan and the movements that we've been working are what will help us in this fight, but it's going to be a tough fight for me. It's going to be a lot of blood, sweat and tears.
'I'm going to get right into his face and put it on him.
'I do believe you're going to see a lot of blood in this fight, and I'm excited for it, to see that dog in me coming out.'
Craig added: 'This is make or break. I'm at a point in my career where I'm a little bit older, 37 years old, 20 fights in the UFC, coming to the last fight on my contract, and it's 'how much do you really want this?'
'Do I want to continue to be a UFC fighter, or do I want to go back to being just a guy from Airdrie who walks about and has to get a normal job.
'Right now, I want to be a UFC fighter. I want to keep going until the wheels fall off this.
'I want to be remembered as one of the greatest Scottish UFC fighters there ever was, and the only way to do that is by getting victories.
'With a victory in Saturday's fight, I can now be in the mix with the light-heavyweights and become a title contender again.
'We've seen guys in the UFC winning titles at 42, so the game's not over just because you've lost a few fights – the game's only beginning, because you decided it was.
'The fire is there. I've put so much into this camp and I do believe that in every single fight camp I get better.
'As long as I keep getting better, with regards to striking, jiu-jitsu, conditioning, I'll keep fighting.
'The minute I stop getting better, and stop becoming a better version of myself, then I will leave the sport.'
Craig and Bellato were due to face off at Vegas 106 in May, only for the Brazilian fighter to be barred from competing due to 'facial herpes' 30 minutes from when they were due in the Octagon.
Paul said: 'At that moment you're already switched on to go to war, and then it's about switching back off, so there were all these emotions in my head.
'We had worked so hard for 10 weeks to be ready for a fight, and not to get the outcome is horrible.
'But that's part of this sport, part of being an athlete, and the best thing you can do is make these next four weeks count, and I think I definitely did that.
'I definitely think I'm a much better version of myself.
'I think it's a much harder fight for Rodolfo to be fighting.'
Craig believes moving back to light-heavyweight from middleweight has galvanised him.
He said: 'I do believe I have so much left to give in this sport. There are only two Scottish fighters in the UFC, and I want to open up the door for more guys to come in.
'There are people who have come and gone in this sport, I'm still here, and I want to keep using my profile to help the sport in Scotland. I do believe I've done that.
'The three [defeats] are in the past, but those three fights that I lost are against some of the best guys in that division.
'Bo Nickal had the US President watching him in New York, Caio Borralho is potentially going to be the next champion in this middleweight division, and Brendan Allen is in the mix.
'These are all top-10 opponents within the UFC, it's not like I'm fighting unnamed opponents, these are the best of the best. I'll take losses from them from a division that isn't mine.
'Going back up to light-heavyweight has given me a boost and I do believe it will reinvigorate my career, now.'
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