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Debuts don’t get much better than the one Paul Craig had back at UFC on Fox 22 in December, but if you ask the Scotsman about it now, he’ll be the first to tell you there are even better things to come from him.



Craig, 29, was the former BAMMA light heavyweight champion and holds a perfect 9-0 record. Despite being a man who openly admits he’s not a consumer of the sport outside his own day-to-day business, Craig always dreamed of mixing it with the world's elite in the UFC. That said, speaking exclusively to FloCombat on the Skinny G Podcast, "Bearjew" recalled how his debut felt, nothing that it wasn't any different than any of his fights on the European circuit.



Recalling his debut in Sacramento

“For me, it was just another fight, and I know that sounds a bit like, no, it must’ve been something bigger, but I’m not a UFC fan, I’m not an MMA fan,” Craig said. “I participate in the sport and I enjoy the sport, and I know there are some people that love their MMA, but it was just another fight for me. That fight could’ve been in my local town hall. The only difference was when I walked out there were all these fans.



“I didn’t feel the pressure leading up to it, and that’s why I came across as really calm—because I was really calm. It wasn’t me trying to hide it or be calm—I just was calm. I never put any pressure on myself going into fights. What’s the worst that can happen? A fight can go one of two ways: one, you’re going to win, or two, you’re going to lose. As long as you train hard enough and you’re good enough, it should go your way.”



Craig defeated the Brazilian Luis Henrique da Silva at his debut in Sacramento, California, getting the job done with a slick second-round armlock. Prior to the bout, da Silva had gone 12 unbeaten with a record that included two wins inside the UFC. Despite having the prospect of facing formidable opposition in his first fight under the UFC banner, Craig said he and his coaches always knew he had enough to get the job done.



“Myself and my coaches spoke about his style, and he’s called ‘Frankenstein’ because he marches people down and he comes in,” Craig said. “He allows to punch himself out, and his gas tank put him away. He’s just this like, zombie, like Frankenstein. He did the exact same thing last weekend. He allowed his opponent to keep punching him and take him down—he just takes it.



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“We were just aware of that and we didn’t want to gas. He wanted the opportunity to walk me forward and cut off the ring and make it horrible for me—so we did it to him. We went rushing out, flung a high kick and just started throwing shots.”



Fighting in Las Vegas

While UFC on Fox 22 was a massive card to debut on, Craig’s second fight against Australian Tyson Pedro will take place on an even bigger stage—UFC 209 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Craig’s fight will be on the undercard of Stephen Thompson versus Tyron Woodley 2, and he will compete for the first time under the bright lights of the T-Mobile Arena.



The Scotsman recalled how the fight with Pedro came together and how he’d been hoping to get a higher-ranked opponent.



“What I wanted was a name—a scalp so I would let everyone know who I was so I can build my brand up,” Craig said. “We had to take Tyson Pedro. It wasn’t like we ​had ​ to take him—we didn’t say, 'No, no, we don’t want that fight,' but we asked the UFC if we can fight in Las Vegas because my teammate Mark Godbeer is fighting on this show and it would work out if we could train together if the two of us were fighting on this card.



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“The UFC came back and said, 'Unfortunately this card is full.' Two days later, they phoned us back and said, 'Is there any chance you would be interested in fighting Tyson Pedro at 209?' It took all of two seconds for us to say—my coach didn’t even ask me—he said, 'Aye, we’ll take that.' We want to be active. We don’t want to be a fighter that’s not active."



Becoming the light heavyweight Donald Cerrone

Craig then explained the simple philosophy that he and his coaches employ when it comes to taking fights. It involves finding the baddest men in the division, picking them off one by one and never backing down from a scrap.



“We want to constantly be kicking that door in and trying to get in that top 10," Craig said. "We did it in the European and UK scene—that’s all we wanted to do. All we did was look at all the top-ranked guys in the UK and say, 'We want him. We’ll take him,' then we’d ask for the fights. We did that with the European scene—that’s how we work. We never back down from a fight, and every single fight that’s ever been offered to us we take.



“It’s going to be the same in the UFC. We’ve looked at that roster of guys, and we’re going to go ask for this guy. I think we are going to command a wee bit more respect taking fights. If you look at Donald Cerrone, the UFC have done an awful lot for him, UFC the company, [it’s] because he takes his fights and he’ll step in last minute and put on a performance. I’d like to do that and be that kind of guy where the UFC say[s], 'Oh, no, there’s been a pull-out at light heavyweight...Oh, I know, ‘Bearjew,' Paul Craig, yeah, he’ll come in, kick some d*ck and go home."



Scottish Hit Squad is Toys 'R' Us

While some fighters from Europe feel the necessity to move abroad to American training camps to get the best training the world, Craig feels that he’s got everything he needs in Coatbridge, Scotland, with the Scottish Hit Squad. Under the guidance of head coach of Brian Gallacher, Craig doesn’t think there’ll ever be the need to leave his beloved Scotland.



“I don’t need to [go abroad], it’s Toys 'R' Us—everything all under one roof,” Craig joked, speaking about the Scottish Hit Squad. “We got everything. It’s freezing, every day we go in and it’s freezing, but we got all the coaches we need right here about us. We got Brian [Gallacher] at the head of us—he orchestrates everything working with all the individual coaches. We don’t have an MMA coach who does everything.



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“We have a boxing coach, Lawrence Murphy, we got a Muay Thai coach, Stevie Houston, Marcus Nardini, our jiu-jitsu coach, a wrestling coach, David McDonald, strength and conditioning coaches—that’s just what we do, and that’s what has worked for us on the past. It’s a great way of doing it.”



Shipping off to Vegas

With a strong team and the nation of Scotland behind him, Craig has two more weeks of hard training before heading out to Las Vegas for his final preparations. While he may not love the sport, Craig explained why he has a big passion for achieving personal success—and it wasn’t a typical explanation about belts and money.



“I’m looking to get more fans and not let anyone down, you know?" Craig said. "It's a nice feeling when people tell me they smile when they watch us fight and I inspire them and that my story inspires them because I’ve not had a long career in MMA. Some guys started this sport at a very young age, but I just started this sport four and a half years ago as just a bit of fun.



“A bit of fun became a hobby, and then a hobby became a passion, and then a passion became a job. Now I’m a pro athlete and people look at me and think that’s a cool story. People message me and thank me and tell them I’ve inspired them to take MMA fights or to get involved with jiu-jitsu. That’s a nice feeling, and I’m just looking to get more people behind the Scottish guy and inspire more people to admire the Scottish.”





​Listen to Craig's full interview with "Skinny G" Jim Edwards here:



