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1 hour ago
When Paul Craig asked his coach Kieran Reed to cut off his gloves following defeat by Modestas Bukauskas at UFC Paris last week, he stopped and looked him dead in the eye.
“Are you sure? You know what this means,” said Reed.
It is symbolic of fighters to rest their gloves in the octagon when they end their careers, but Craig had made the decision to retire 10 months ago in November.
“It felt like a massive weight lifted off my shoulders,” said Craig.
“And then all the beautiful messages, videos and drawings that people have sent me. The comments have been incredible – I have been overwhelmed.
“I knew I had a fanbase and I knew they were loyal but it was nice to see them all in one place, showing love to me which was great and my Sunday was spent in tears because there were just so many lovely messages.”
Scotland’s Craig planned to retire in June, but his fight against Rodolfo Bellato was deemed a no-contest following a controversial illegal up-kick.
Craig wanted to go out on a win or loss which is why he took the fight against Bukauskas.
Craig – the most successful Scottish male fighter in UFC history with nine wins from 21 bouts – says the pressure of fighting in the world’s biggest mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion at the age of 37 had caught up with him.
He went into the fight with Bukauskas having won just one of his previous eight.
“Not only are you representing your gym, yourself, your country, your family, everything – there are a lot of things that you have to do with regards to making weight and training,” said Craig.
“You don’t get a choice to do nice things with your family when you are in fight camp. That is 10 to 12 weeks of you being 100% switched on and I just couldn’t do it any more.
“I didn’t want to do a disservice to myself and my team by them representing a fighter who wasn’t going in there to die for them.”
‘I put Scotland on the map with MMA’
Craig left his job as a teacher to turn professional and entered the UFC in 2016 after winning the first eight fights of his career.
After one win and two defeats he was still unsure about his place in the sport, but this all changed after submitting Russian Magomed Ankalaev – the current UFC light-heavyweight champion – in 2018.
“I believe from that day that I reassessed goals and wanted to become more than just a guy that steps into the octagon. I wanted to have a legacy,” said Craig.
His legacy inside the octagon is that of a grappling specialist, with his six wins by submission being the second most in UFC light-heavyweight history behind Glover Teixeira’s seven.
But it is the impact he has had back home which is most important to Craig.
“When I first started this sport I was one of only three UFC fighters from Scotland,” said Craig.
“Even now there have only ever been a handful of Scottish UFC fighters, but there has only ever been one that has made 21 walks in the UFC and that is me.
“Putting Scotland on the map with MMA – for a long time we didn’t have representation and I have done that.”
He is also proud of being a playable character in the UFC video game, and holding the record for the most triangle submissions in the promotion’s history, at four.
“That kind of stuff is my legacy and it makes me proud to walk away from the sport where I have done something and I have been recognised,” added Craig.
Craig looks back on fighting former champion Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua in Sao Paulo, and defeating former title holder Jamahal Hill as his fondest memories in the sport.
Although Craig says his good times outweigh the regrets, he does have some, including switching gyms too late in his career, and moving to middleweight in 2023, which resulted in him developing an eating disorder.
Looking forward, Craig doubts he will fight in the UFC again, but does see himself competing in jiu-jitsu and returning to teaching.
“I do believe I have got a lot to offer young men who maybe don’t have positive role models within their life, and that is not just in the gym setting – I do believe it can also be in the classroom setting,” said Craig.
Most importantly, he is proud to be exiting on his terms.
“I am leaving this sport with good experiences. Some people leave this sport and they have a sour taste within their mouth and it takes a wee bit from them,” said Craig.
“We have seen fighters who have received concussions, injuries that hampered their longevity in life. I am not one of them, so I am leaving this very high.”
