Paul Craig joins U.K. contingent heading to UFC 'Fight Island,' faces Gadzhimurad Antigulov on July 25
The British contingent set to descend on “UFC Fight Island” continues to grow, with Scottish light heavyweight Paul Craig the latest fighter from the U.K. booked for action in Abu Dhabi.
Craig (12-4-1 MMA, 4-4-1 UFC) has built a reputation as a fighter with a never-say-die approach to his bouts and owns the record for the latest finish in a three-round UFC fight thanks to his last-second submission of Magomed Ankalaev at UFC Fight Night 127 back in 2018.
Since that victory, the 32-year-old from Coatbridge, Scotland, has alternated losses and wins until his most recent outing last November, when he earned a split draw against Brazilian legend Mauricio Rua at UFC on ESPN+ 22.
“The Bearjew” will return to action against Russia’s Gadzhimurad Antigulov in a light heavyweight bout at UFC Fight Night on Yas Island on July 25 – the final of the UFC’s four-event “Fight Island” season. The fight was announced by the UFC’s official European Twitter account.
Antigulov heads into the fight looking to claim his first UFC win since May 2017, when he secured a first-round submission of Joachim Christensen at UFC 211. Since then, the 33-year-old has suffered a pair of first-round knockout losses to Ion Cutelaba and Michal Oleksiejczuk, as well as a host of canceled fight bookings.
Antigulov’s scheduled bouts against Aleksandar Rakic, Sam Alvey, Roman Dolidze, Ed Herman, Devin Clark, and Klidson Abreu all have fallen through due to a combination of injuries and the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. But now the 33-year-old is ready to return for his first appearance since April 2019.
With the addition, the current July 25 lineup includes:
the current July 25 lineup includes:
- Darren Till vs. Robert Whittaker
- Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Mauricio Rua
- Alex Oliviera vs. Peter Sobotta
- Alexander Gustafsson vs. Fabricio Werdum
- Nicholas Dalby vs. opponent TBA
- Tom Aspinall vs. Jake Collier
- Raphael Pessoa vs. Justin Tafa
- Movsar Evloev vs. Mike Grundy
- Bethe Correia vs. Pannie Kianzad
- Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Nathaniel Wood
- Ramazan Emeev vs. opponent TBA
- Jai Herbert vs. Francisco Trinaldo
- Gadzhimurad Antigulov vs. Paul Craig