Fight Preview
Paul Craig and Andre Muniz make their middleweight debuts at UFC London on Saturday July 22 at O2, in a highly anticipated fight that pits two of the greatest submission artists against each other.
Craig will make the difficult move down to 185 pounds for this fight and it could prove challenging, given his success at 205 lbs. In that weight class he only lost to Volkan Oezdemir and Johnny Walker via technical knockout in their respective opening rounds. On the other hand, Muniz looks much better equipped to perform at this weight class than Craig does.
Muniz has endured his share of setbacks in his career, but recently has found some success. He had an eight-fight winning streak until losing to Brendan Allen at UFC 220 in February 2023; Allen used superior ground skills to outwit Muniz on the ground and stop him. Muniz couldn’t come up with an effective response.
Both fighters possess solid striking and jiu-jitsu skills, creating an intriguing matchup on paper. However, Muniz seems like the better pick due to his superior grappling which has seen 13 of 21 wins come via submission – his takedown accuracy stands at 41 percent while defense against significant strikes is 50%.
Craig’s striking, on the other hand, is less impressive: he only manages 1.24 significant strikes per minute with 44% defensive accuracy; his overall takedown defense rate stands at 45 % and he absorbs 2.88 significant strikes per minute as an effective striker.
Muniz looks like he’s the more complete fighter in this encounter, yet Craig might surprise with their experience and power to claim victory in an exciting contest.
Paul Craig will make his UFC return against Andre Muniz on Saturday at UFC London as the slight favorite in middleweight action. Once considered one of the top light heavyweight contenders, Craig has since lost to Volkan Oezdemir and Johnny Walker and fallen off of the rankings.
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Paul Craig vs Andre Muniz Fight Information
- Date: 07/22/2023
- Time: 12:00 PM ET
- Location: The O2 Arena, London (UK).
- How to Watch Craig vs Muniz : ESPN+
- Live Stream: BT Sport.com
