Paul Craig heads into enemy territory on May 4th, when he travels to Rio de Janeiro to take on Caio Borralho at UFC 301.
The last time the promotion touched down in Rio de Janeiro was for UFC 283 when Jamahal Hill caused an upset in the main event of his light heavyweight title fight against Glover Teixeira.
Craig to defend his middleweight ranking against Borralho
Paul Craig moved down to middleweight from light heavyweight last year, following back-to-back losses at 205lbs. He was victorious in his middleweight debut, scoring a knockout win against Andre Muniz.
‘Bearjew’ then went on to lose against Brendan Allen just four months later. After suffering a main event loss to Allen, the 36-year-old could’ve expected his next fight to come against someone lower-ranked than him.
Caio Borralho is on a five-fight win streak since earning a contract on the Contender Series back in 2021 and has been highlighted by many as a dark horse in the 185lb division. His last win came against Abus Magomedov when the UFC arrived in Sao Paulo last year.
Paul Craig on why fighting in Glasgow is worse than fighting in Brazil
Although Brazilian fans are known as one of the most passionate in the MMA fanbase, with them notoriously supporting their compatriots more than most, Craig has said that fighting there isn’t as bad as fighting in Scotland.
‘Bearjew’ has fought in Brazil twice during his UFC tenure, with the first coming against Mauricio Shogun Rua back in 2020, and the second instance being against Johnny Walker just last year, drawing and losing in those bouts.
Back in 2017, the UFC hosted an event in Glasgow, Scotland, and it was only their second-ever event in the country. On that card, the 36-year-old fought Khalil Rountree Jr, in what was only his third UFC fight.
Unfortunately for him, the homecoming ended with a knockout loss. Craig explained in an interview with talkSPORT MMA that it was ‘worse’ fighting in Scotland than it was in Brazil because there was ‘too much love’.
“It’s one of the worst places you can go, fighting in Brazil. Brazilian fans are wild no matter what the sport is. They chant this phrase that means ‘you’re going to die’ and they just keep chanting it. It’s hard because you’re going out there looking for the upset, you’re trying to not allow the emotions to get above themselves, it’s difficult in Brazil.
“But even worse than fighting in Brazil, is fighting in Glasgow.” Craig explained. “It’s the polar opposite, too much love. People are chanting and want you to do so well and it’s like if you’re a homegrown talent fighting in your hometown, and that night in Glasgow, I was consumed by the love.”
Although the odds are stacked against Craig, he will hope to successfully defend his number 13 middleweight rank, halting the surge of the Brazilian Borralho.
The rest of the UFC 301 main card
While the UFC 301 card isn’t as stacked as the two cards that came before it, there are still some big matchups set to take place.
- Alexandre Pantoja (27-5) vs Steve Erceg (12-1) – UFC flyweight title fight main event
- Jonathan Martinez (19-4) vs Jose Aldo (31-8)
- Paul Craig (17-7-1) vs Caio Borralho (15-1)
- Anthony Smith (37-19) vs Vitor Petrino (11-0)
- Michel Pereira (30-11) vs Makhmud Muradov (26-8)