Paul Craig has an awful fighting style.

Chubi said:
I don't really get why he moved down to MW, he doesn't hit harder at 185 and has a real speed disadvantage. You can add that MW are better all around technically, and be sure that he won't be able to sub those guys like he did at 205.
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He realized that taking a shot at being a weight bully was his only chance to advance his career. However he should listen to you and fight slow, less skilled 205ers.
 
@Fengxian
yes I agree Hill is not that good and he got murked by Pereira.

Craig needs to take an extended break from UFC fights and work really hard on the holes in his game if he wants to remain in the UFC.
He has lost FOUR of his last 5 fights which is pretty terrible and a very good indication that you aren't UFC level OR you have big holes in your game. Craig's next fight is a must win for him and if UFC are being kind, they'll offer him a softer opponent who has a history of losing by submission.

Either way, Craig is very very hittable by punches, and any future opponent will see that from past tape study so Craig should go train at a top boxing gym for 6 months, 5 days per week (other 2 days wrestling / BJJ / kicks etc / cardio etc) and learn to AVOID punches especially to his head. If he isn't bright enough to realize that, and take action, he isn't going to last more than one more fight in UFC.

I do think he is popular, and people tune in for his fights, and that is in his favor so I'd imagine UFC will cut him a break but he is on thin ice with 80% loss rate in last 5 fights.
 
Fengxian said:
He beat Hill cause Hill, like tons of 205 fighters are not that good. Ankalaev is a very good fighter with not so good IQ level.
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HI SCOTT NEWMAN said:
He is not very fluid in the striking, too slow. But his biggest issue is he has his chin straight up in the air every fight.. I agree with you on that TS. I can't believe he has not corrected this by now as he has been in UFC for many years, his coaches should be able to fix this the very first time they saw it.

He obviously has great submissions and it very crafty on the ground. But he has got to fix the chin up in the air issue, because he does that every single fight and I just can't see him going anywhere until he improves this, he is too slow as well.
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This !
His movements are slow which is quite noticeable and his chin is super exposed and on the center-line all the time and a good HARD jab from a 200lbs opponent has him halfway to stanky legs. Having said that the left hook that Borralho put him down with would have put down 90% of middleweights. But Craig's issue is his head is too stationary, too much of a target and he just cannot see these punches coming quick enough.

He has to change and make drastic changes fast or else he'll be gone.....
 
Doughie99 said:
This !
His movements are slow which is quite noticeable and his chin is super exposed and on the center-line all the time and a good HARD jab from a 200lbs opponent has him halfway to stanky legs. Having said that the left hook that Borralho put him down with would have put down 90% of middleweights. But Craig's issue is his head is too stationary, too much of a target and he just cannot see these punches coming quick enough.

He has to change and make drastic changes fast or else he'll be gone.....
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Very true, I don't know who his striking coaches are, but they need to be got rid of. If you do any boxing training the first things a boxing coach will tell you is "never close your eyes while punching" and "don't put your chin straight up", its the basics, and I mean the real basics. Its not overly hard, you should learn it quite quickly. Its a billion times harder to learn to slip punches properly (for example) you need many years to learn the art of that. But chin straight up in the air is the basics

You are so right, any 200 Ibs man can drop you if you put your chin straight up, they don't need to be a pro fighter. If doesn't matter how skilled you are and how talented you are if you put your chin straight up in the air then you're just asking to be dropped.
 
He either finishes or gets finished. Not awful in my book!

Edit: literally zero decisions on his record
 
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Chubi said:
I don't really get why he moved down to MW, he doesn't hit harder at 185 and has a real speed disadvantage. You can add that MW are better all around technically, and be sure that he won't be able to sub those guys like he did at 205.
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He probably thought he'd be able to bully guys around since he's a grappler with a size advantage.
 
He needs better stand up and wrestling coaching..

He has all the physical tool to be successful...just needs guidance in a few areas..

I wouldnt mind working with him, from a coaching stand point... He could become a really dynamic striker because itll make people want to take him down and when they do he can sub them ...
 
Paolo Delutis said:
He needs better stand up and wrestling coaching..

He has all the physical tool to be successful...just needs guidance in a few areas..

I wouldnt mind working with him, from a coaching stand point... He could become a really dynamic striker because itll make people want to take him down and when they do he can sub them ...
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Dude, you think he hasn't been learning striking in a decade of mma training that he has done?
He just doesn't have the natural disposition for it, or a may be just a slow learner. Some guys are like that. It is way too late for him to become a good striker, may be improve by 50% (which isn't hard at all when you suck that bad), but he is going to be limited going forward.
If I was his coach, I would try to help him become more defensively sound on the feet, but most importantly I would make him drill takedowns until he can takedown anybody, wrestle his ass off etc... At this point in his career you need to maximize his best skill which is his grappling and submission ability to the max.
 
IveBeenHere4yrs said:
I know he has some good names in his W column (Jamal Hill, Ankalaev, Shogun) but his days in the UFC are numbered. He flops on his back trying to pull guard, no offensive grappling style, he flinches, chin up in the air and he looks very weak at MW.

He has one of the meanest mug pre fight, up until Bruce Buffer intro in the octagon but as soon as the bell rings he's like a dog with his tail between his legs.

He should consider going into Polaris submission fighting. Everybody knows his game now!
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Craig's mean mug definitely doesn't match his skills.
 
kingmob6 said:
Dude, you think he hasn't been learning striking in a decade of mma training that he has done?
He just doesn't have the natural disposition for it, or a may be just a slow learner. Some guys are like that. It is way too late for him to become a good striker, may be improve by 50% (which isn't hard at all when you suck that bad), but he is going to be limited going forward.
If I was his coach, I would try to help him become more defensively sound on the feet, but most importantly I would make him drill takedowns until he can takedown anybody, wrestle his ass off etc... At this point in his career you need to maximize his best skill which is his grappling and submission ability to the max.
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You'd be surprised at what people do and are allowed to get away with at gyms ...

Training only to his strengths is how he got to this place in the first place... His stand up doesn't have to be perfect but it can be serviceable and dangerous enough that it makes guys want to try and grapple him or at least trade with him which will create openings for grappling...

Wrestling he needs...i mentioned that too
 
Paolo Delutis said:
You'd be surprised at what people do and are allowed to get away with at gyms ...

Training only to his strengths is how he got to this place in the first place... His stand up doesn't have to be perfect but it can be serviceable and dangerous enough that it makes guys want to try and grapple him or at least trade with him which will create openings for grappling...

Wrestling he needs...i mentioned that too
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I don't think i would be surprised.
His strength is his grappling, however, I think you skipped over the part where I said specificially that he needs to drill takedowns and wrestling, which isn't his strength at all; that is to compliment his biggest strength and to give him advantage.
Training heavy striking at age 36, when he might have a few years max left in his career, is pretty much just wasting time. He is never going to improve enough to be even serviceable. That's why I said, just get him somewhat defensively sound on the feet, that's it, and rest is all takedown drills.
 
Dude is lucky some really good fighters are stupid enough to fight him in the only position he is good at... Ankalaev, Hill, Krylov.. all those guys smash him if they avoid the ground.
 
Mike said:
And Werdum was a high level talent and it took him years to get there, basically until his second ufc run.
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I would say he already was a fairly decent Striker for a grappler before his run
 
he should study gsp's fighting style religiously and learn how to implement reactive takedowns into his game
he has good kicks, with a decent jab and some reactive TD's he would be a different fighter already

his gym sucks
 
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