UFC light heavyweight Paul Craig is looking ahead to his second fight in the promotion against Tyson Pedro in the featured UFC Fight Pass preliminary card at Saturday’s UFC 209 event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
If you had asked the 29-year-old former soccer player about his opponent, he would likely come up short. In fact, Paul Craig’s knowledge other fighters, in general, would likely surprise most: he is admittedly someone who isn’t even a fan of the UFC. Craig recently expained to MMA Junkie:
“Not to sound big-headed, but the name [Pedro] meant nothing to me. I’m not a big UFC fan. I don’t spend much time watching opponents, but I had the confidence in my coach to accept that fight right off the bat.
“We had asked to fight in Vegas at UFC 209 because my teammate, Mark Godbeer, had got his fight with Todd Duffee. We got in touch with the UFC to see if we could get a fight then, but they said the card was full. Then, two days later, they phoned us back and asked if we’d like to fight Tyson Pedro, and although I’d been very vocal about getting a top-10 or top-15 opponent, when you ask the UFC for something and they come back to you, you don’t really turn them down.”
It was UFC on FOX 22’s prelims that Paul Craig signalled his entrance to the UFC with victory over Luis Henrique da Silva by way of second-round submission. “Bearjew” bagged a “Performance of the Night” bonus, and drew positive attention to himself. Craig started his career aged 24, in a business where most have been at least schooled in one discipline from an early age.
When asked why he participates in a sport he doesn’t enjoy watching (especially a sport where you are bound to take a beaten at some point) Craig was philosophical:
“I think everybody wants to be better person than they are,” Craig said. “If it’s not people going to church or the gym to improve their physique, it’s wanting to leave something behind when you’re gone. When I’m gone, I don’t want to be just another guy in a hole and never be remembered again. Even after my time in MMA, if I haven’t done anything, I’ve still taken a really good crack at it. I will have made some really good memories and, somewhere in the world, somebody will remember me. That’s the kind of legacy I want, so that my kids can grow up and be proud of who I am.
“It can be hard because when you’re working that 9-to-5 job and that wage is coming in, it makes life that much easier when it comes to having a family. But life is meant to be hard, and there are days when you wake up and your mind and body are shattered, but you’ve still got to push yourself or let a guy punch your lights out for four rounds, get back up and go home to try and live this normal life with your kids.”
