When the undefeated Paul “Bear Jew” Craig faced another unbeaten fighter in Tyson Pedro at UFC 209 recently, chances favored one fighter leaving with their first loss.
Following a nine-fight win streak in professional MMA, Craig was stopped by Pedro in what would be the first blemish on his record. Following the loss, Craig is still adjusting to dealing with feelings he has never had to experience before (via MMAFighting):
“I don’t think I’ll get over it until I rectify my loss,” Craig told MMA Fighting. “Leading up to the fight, you see all these scenarios in your head, how you are going to combat that night and what your opponent is going to do. And then after the fight, I’m doing the exact same thing, so I don’t know how long this is going to take. I keep repeating the same stuff: What if I didn’t do this? Was it that? Was this the reason?”
Craig has also had time to ponder, and in doing so gauge the reaction of fans to his first defeat inside the cage:
“When Conor McGregor lost there were loads and loads of negative stuff about him on social media. I know I would be disheartened. Even if you’re at the top of the game, it’d still get disheartening, so that stuck around and played in my head when I got the loss,” Craig said. “How do you deal with only negative criticisms? I was worried about that, but I haven’t had that. It’s been mostly people wanting to spur me on and get back there and get better, so it’s nice having the fans.”
Craig is in looking to turn things around once he has enjoyed spending some well earned time with his family. With news of the UFC booking an event in Glasgow on July 16 confirmed, what better place to get back to winning ways than at home?:
“I feel like I need to take some time off,” Craig said. “I’ve had back-to-back fight camps. I fought in Sacramento, I had a week off, and then I started my fight camp for UFC 209, so I think I need to take some time off to spend with my family because they’re the ones who suffer. So I think I’ll relax for a few weeks, let the loss sink in because I still don’t believe it has 100 percent sunk in, and then come back. I want to save myself for the UFC’s event in Glasgow. UFC Scotland is something I want, I want to be there so that’s what I’m setting my eyes on.”
