After UFC-debut win, Paul Craig 'won't accept anything less' than top-15 competition

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Paul Craig has just started his UFC career, but he’s already got some requests.

After beating previously undefeated Luis Henrique da Silva (12-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) via armbar in his promotional debut, a highly amped-up Craig (9-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) said he has done enough to earn himself some ranked competition.

“Henrique was 12-0, and he was 2-0 in the UFC,” Craig said. “Had not been beat, and he was in the top 20. I’m 9-0 now, I dropped his 0, and now I won’t accept anything less than a top-15 opponent.

“I’m going to make waves within the UFC’s light-heavyweight division. It’s going to be my division. I just feel – it feels like this is what I was put in the UFC to do. So I’m feeling jacked right now.”

The light-heavyweight bout closed Saturday’s UFC on FOX 22 preliminary card at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif. It aired on FS1, following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of the FOX-televised main card, and gave Craig a pretty big audience for his UFC debut.

Although he’s clearly got high aspirations for himself in the promotion, Craig is also adamant about not leaving his day job as a teacher with an educational charity in Scotland. Balancing the two, he said, simply means he’s “living the dream.”

And it’s one that’s come with a great amount of support.

“They were great,” Craig said. “They gave me two weeks off to come over here to fulfill my dream of fighting in the UFC. So the love I felt from staff within the schools, and the pupils have been messaging me nonstop.

“It’s overwhelming, the love I felt from Scotland, not only from the schools and the students, but everywhere. It’s hard to describe. I’m just a normal guy. I’m back at work on Sunday morning. I’ve just got a submission victory in the UFC, so it’s pretty sweet.”

Craig brushed off any newcomer jitters before what was just “another day at the office.” In fact, the lead-up to Saturday’s scrap seems to have been quite the fun ride for the 205-pounder, who managed to squeeze in a little vacation time and enjoyed some support from a band he’s long been a fan of, which left him even more “pumped” ahead of his debut (via Twitter):

Now looking to raise the Scottish stock within the organization, Craig can’t be happier with the way his first outing ultimately turned out.

“Dreams are made and dreams are broken in the octagon in the UFC,” Craig said. “And you know what? My dreams just get bigger and bigger and bigger, and unfortunately somebody’s dream had to die tonight, and it was Henrique’s.

“That armbar felt amazing, to get it against an opponent who had not been beaten. I’m the man to hand that off to him, so it’s a great experience.”

Craig had already said he had his eyes set on top-15 competition. But, as someone who “doesn’t really watch the UFC,” the Scottish fighter had a tough time singling out specific names – even joking about “what was that guy called – Jon Jones?”

However, after taking out a product from Brazil, he wouldn’t mind having a stab at some of the country’s legends.

“UFC Scotland is going to come in the new year,” Craig said. “Don’t know when that is. I hope it’s going to be during the summertime, so I can have some training over the summer, when the schools are off and I can be off and not have to take any time off.

“And maybe I’ll get a Brazilian legend. You know what would be cool? If I got like an (Antonio Rogerio Nogueira) or (Mauricio) ‘Shogun’ Rua. That would be cool.”

For more of Craig’s somewhat-ambitious thoughts after his UFC debut, check out the video above.

And for complete coverage of UFC on FOX 22, check out the UFC Events section of the site.