Paul Craig Promises Fans D*ck Will Be Kicked At UFC 209
Paul Craig Promises Fans D*ck Will Be Kicked At UFC 209
Rising Scottish UFC light heavyweight Paul Craig sends a message to Tyson Pedro ahead of UFC 209.
The talk of the town at UFC 209 fight week might be welterweight champ Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson and Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson, but the UFC Fight Pass preliminary featured bout has good chance of stealing the headlines by Saturday evening.
Paul Craig (9-0) takes on Tyson Pedro (5-0) in a battle of two highly talented and undefeated light heavyweights looking to make their mark on the biggest stage of all this Saturday, March 4, at UFC 209. Craig, 29, made his debut back in December last year when he defeated the Brazilian fighter Luis Henrique da Silva at UFC on Fox 22 in Sacramento via second-round submission.
With another undefeated fighter, Pedro, now standing in the Scotsman’s way, Craig isn’t getting ahead of himself, and speaking to FloCombat earlier this week, he underlined the importance of the experience advantage he holds over the Aussie.
“Well I know he’s 5-0 and I know he’s a lot younger than me as well,” Craig said. “So, he’s not had the experience, he’s not felt what I’ve felt and he’s not had the experience of fighting the caliber of fighters that I’ve fought.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BQjHgjBhFzx/" hide_caption="0"]
“You don’t need to look at my record, I’ve fought some of the best guys on the European circuit and even in my UFC debut I was fighting 12-0 Henrique da Silva who was a good murking folk man—he tapped a black belt and sparked out some other dude, so he was a good scalp for me on my UFC debut.”
Having highlighted that he’s the much more experienced fighter of the two, Craig then spoke about the type of fight he’s expecting Pedro to bring. Suffice to say, the Scotsman is wary--but confident--he’s going to be able to handle him come fight night.
“As to what I’m expecting, I’m expecting he’s not going to want to stand with me,” Craig said. “I’ve got crazy power in my hands and in my feet and I’ve not had a massive opportunity to really showcase that, but it’s getting better and better with each fight camp that I do.
“I think he’s going to try to rush in, take me down and take away my power and leverage of punches and kicks. If he gets me to the ground, man, he’s going to realize that he’s messed up and he’s going to submission city.”
One question Craig is being asked a lot this week is whether he will repeat his "Braveheart" themed weigh-in that he debuted in his first UFC fight week in Sacramento. Craig, the entertainer as ever, said we’d all have to tune in to find out, however he did take the time to send a nod to UFC welterweight Mike "Platinum," Perry who he said was the man behind the idea.
“Man, I can’t steal this, it was ‘Platinum’ Perry, man,” Craig said. “We’d met Mike Perry a few times and he’s awesome, man, he’s cool and he’s down to earth, man. He was like, 'Oh, man, if I was Scottish I’d be like painting my face up man and then I’d go up there [and say] lets f*cking go, Scotland.'
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BOGXxexh4Qs/" hide_caption="0"]
“His infectiousness just made an impression on me and my coach, and we were like, 'That guys knows how to get a pop from the crowd.' So, we did it, and you know it went down a storm at home and everybody loved it. Who knows, maybe we will see it again—you never know.”
Having traveled across the world to take this fight, few of Craig’s Scottish fans will be able to be make the trip and watch him fight at the T-Mobile Arena. The Scotsman, however, said he feels the energy of their support even though he’s all the way in Las Vegas and he promised he would leave everything in the Octagon Saturday night and do them proud.
“There’s guys that used to travel down in the UK and we fought in Spennymoor in like a tiny, tiny town hall and there were guys that traveled all the way down to see me, and they didn’t even know what it [MMA] was," Craig said. "They’re still there, riding this adventure. This adventure we’re on could stop tomorrow—you never know.
“Listen, I appreciate the guys who show me the love on Twitter, Instagram—message me, man, it’s really me, and I will get back to you. It’s actually me who does my social media and I will get back to you—just no d*ck pics please.”
With that said, Craig just had one final message for his fans before the big night, once again taking the opportunity to pay homage to his good friend Mike ‘Platinum’ Perry.
“’Let’s go, Scotland,'” Craig repeated in his best Mike ‘Platinum’ Perry voice. “Please just keep sending me the love, send me the love UK, and you’re going to see some dick getting kicked this Saturday night—let’s go Scotland.”
Paul Craig (9-0) takes on Tyson Pedro (5-0) in a battle of two highly talented and undefeated light heavyweights looking to make their mark on the biggest stage of all this Saturday, March 4, at UFC 209. Craig, 29, made his debut back in December last year when he defeated the Brazilian fighter Luis Henrique da Silva at UFC on Fox 22 in Sacramento via second-round submission.
Tyson Pedro another worthy opponent
With another undefeated fighter, Pedro, now standing in the Scotsman’s way, Craig isn’t getting ahead of himself, and speaking to FloCombat earlier this week, he underlined the importance of the experience advantage he holds over the Aussie.
“Well I know he’s 5-0 and I know he’s a lot younger than me as well,” Craig said. “So, he’s not had the experience, he’s not felt what I’ve felt and he’s not had the experience of fighting the caliber of fighters that I’ve fought.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BQjHgjBhFzx/" hide_caption="0"]
“You don’t need to look at my record, I’ve fought some of the best guys on the European circuit and even in my UFC debut I was fighting 12-0 Henrique da Silva who was a good murking folk man—he tapped a black belt and sparked out some other dude, so he was a good scalp for me on my UFC debut.”
Pedro in trouble standing or on the ground
Having highlighted that he’s the much more experienced fighter of the two, Craig then spoke about the type of fight he’s expecting Pedro to bring. Suffice to say, the Scotsman is wary--but confident--he’s going to be able to handle him come fight night.
“As to what I’m expecting, I’m expecting he’s not going to want to stand with me,” Craig said. “I’ve got crazy power in my hands and in my feet and I’ve not had a massive opportunity to really showcase that, but it’s getting better and better with each fight camp that I do.
“I think he’s going to try to rush in, take me down and take away my power and leverage of punches and kicks. If he gets me to the ground, man, he’s going to realize that he’s messed up and he’s going to submission city.”
Will we get another Braveheart weigh-in?
One question Craig is being asked a lot this week is whether he will repeat his "Braveheart" themed weigh-in that he debuted in his first UFC fight week in Sacramento. Craig, the entertainer as ever, said we’d all have to tune in to find out, however he did take the time to send a nod to UFC welterweight Mike "Platinum," Perry who he said was the man behind the idea.
“Man, I can’t steal this, it was ‘Platinum’ Perry, man,” Craig said. “We’d met Mike Perry a few times and he’s awesome, man, he’s cool and he’s down to earth, man. He was like, 'Oh, man, if I was Scottish I’d be like painting my face up man and then I’d go up there [and say] lets f*cking go, Scotland.'
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BOGXxexh4Qs/" hide_caption="0"]
“His infectiousness just made an impression on me and my coach, and we were like, 'That guys knows how to get a pop from the crowd.' So, we did it, and you know it went down a storm at home and everybody loved it. Who knows, maybe we will see it again—you never know.”
Tyson Pedro will get his ‘dick kicked’ at UFC 209
Having traveled across the world to take this fight, few of Craig’s Scottish fans will be able to be make the trip and watch him fight at the T-Mobile Arena. The Scotsman, however, said he feels the energy of their support even though he’s all the way in Las Vegas and he promised he would leave everything in the Octagon Saturday night and do them proud.
“There’s guys that used to travel down in the UK and we fought in Spennymoor in like a tiny, tiny town hall and there were guys that traveled all the way down to see me, and they didn’t even know what it [MMA] was," Craig said. "They’re still there, riding this adventure. This adventure we’re on could stop tomorrow—you never know.
“Listen, I appreciate the guys who show me the love on Twitter, Instagram—message me, man, it’s really me, and I will get back to you. It’s actually me who does my social media and I will get back to you—just no d*ck pics please.”
With that said, Craig just had one final message for his fans before the big night, once again taking the opportunity to pay homage to his good friend Mike ‘Platinum’ Perry.
“’Let’s go, Scotland,'” Craig repeated in his best Mike ‘Platinum’ Perry voice. “Please just keep sending me the love, send me the love UK, and you’re going to see some dick getting kicked this Saturday night—let’s go Scotland.”