PAUL CRAIG will enter the cage this weekend with the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The Scottish submission artist will make his 20th venture to the octagon early on Sunday morning at UFC Vegas 106.
GETTYPaul Craig returns to the octagon early on Sunday morning at UFC Vegas 106[/caption]
GETTYCraig enters his 20th octagon outing with the weight of the world on his shoulders[/caption]
GETTYThe Scot is on the worst run of his career having lost his last three in a row[/caption]
GETTY‘The Bearjew’ admits it could be curtains for his UFC career if he tastes a fourth-straight loss[/caption]
And he’ll do so in uncharted territory having lost his last three in a row, the worst skid of his near nine-year run in mixed martial arts’ top promotion.
Brazilian bruiser Rodolfo Bellato stands between the Airdrie assassin and a much-needed return to the win column in the final fight of his current contract.
And he admits it could be curtains for his time as a fighter in MMA‘s top promotion if he doesn’t have his hand raised in the Sin City showdown.
In an exclusive interview with SunSport, he said: “The way the UFC works is you need to be winning. That’s what this sport is about, and what you do in that octagon.
“It’s not about all the extra media you do or your ability to chat. That’s a very small part of this job.
“It’s about what happens in that octagon. And I do believe that coming off the three losses, with three of those losses being against three good opponents.
“It wasn’t like I had been beaten off no-names. I got beat off, Brendan Allen, who’s in that top 15 and he’s in that mix.
“And I got beat off Caio Borralho who’s the same. And some people say he’s probably the next champion in that division.
GETTYPaul Crig faces Brazilian bruiser Rodolfo Bellato in his 20th UFC bout[/caption]
“And then when you look at Bo Nickal, I wasn’t beaten. I beat myself in the Bo Nickal fight. You’re always worried about your next contract.
“And this is kind of one of these moments where if you don’t perform on Saturday night against Rodolfo Bellato, there’s a good chance that the UFC won’t pick you back up.
“So that fear is what kind of motivates me as well.
“We’ve seen that when I fought Magomed Ankaleav and I got that victory in the last fight of my contract for that period.
“And I’m coming to the same sort of moment in my life where this is all or nothing.
“‘Do you want to be a UFC fighter? Or do you want to go back to Monday [to Friday] nine-to-five and be a teacher or be working in a gym? Is that what you want to do as your job?’
“And I’m like, ‘You know what, I do believe there’s a little bit left in me to be a UFC fighter and be a light heavyweight champion.’
“So it’s all or nothing come Saturday.
“I would love to say you’re going to see a different version of Paul Craig, but you never know what happens on that night. But I’m definitely going there out on my shield. And it’s a victory I’m looking for.”
Paul’s back may be up against the wall, but he has a habit of rising to the occasion when the going gets tough.
Two of his best wins have come when he’s suffered consecutive losses, the first being his Hail Mary stoppage of 205lbs champ Magomed Ankalaev and his beatdown of middleweight contender Andre Muniz.
“When there is pressure, I do believe that’s when you see the best Paul Craig,” he said. “Somebody made a meme online and it’s like, ‘Paul Craig can beat anyone on any given night.’ And it’s true, I can beat anyone.
GETTYPaul Craig recorded a sensational last-gasp win over 205lbs champ Magomed Ankalaev while on a two-fight skid[/caption]
GETTYThe Airdrie assassin stopped middleweight bruiser Andre Muniz while on a separate two-fight losing streak[/caption]
“If you put somebody in front of me and as long as I’m switched on and there’s enough added external pressure, then I will rise to the occasion.
“And I do believe this is going to be one of these moments.”
Paul will have to be the most “switched on” he’s been in recent years to get the better of Dana White‘s Contenders Series graduate Bellato, a hard-hitting former LFA light-heavyweight champion.
Bellato’s early handiwork in the UFC has impressed Paul, although he believes the Brazilian bruiser has shortcomings when it comes to fortitude.
“He’s an amazing MMA practitioner,” Paul said of the 29-year-old. “He’s coming off a draw.
“He’s working with guys like Alex Pereira. He’s got a very good jiu-jitsu ground game and he’s got a very good stand-up striking game.
“But what he’s not got is he’s not got that heart of a warrior. He’s not got that Celtic blood in him that runs deep.
“And I do believe that’s what we’re going to show on Saturday night.
I need the win or this game’s over for Paul Craig in the UFC.”
Paul Craig on his showdown with Rodolfo Bellato
“That ability to pick ourselves back up and keep driving forward and looking for our victories.”
Victory over Bellato with his proverbial back up against the wall will not only save Paul’s UFC bacon, it’ll stop him from walking away from the sport entirely.
And the magnitude of the do-or-die desert dust-up will continue to weigh heavily on his mind until the dust has settled on the Apex clash.
He said: “It needs to be a victory for the UFC career-saving moment. This is the last fight on my contract. I do want to keep being a fighter.
“I do believe, as I get a little bit older, that I’m getting better, skill-wise, with regards to jiu-jitsu. I’m always learning.
“I do believe that I’m a much better version of a mixed martial artist than I was back when I first started. And that’s the thing that keeps me in this sport.
“As long as I can keep getting better, then I’ll keep staying in this sport.
“And as we said, there’s a lot of pressure coming off of three losses. I need the win or this game’s over for Paul Craig in the UFC.”
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