Paul Craig steps in to fight “Shogun” at UFC São Paulo

UFC light heavyweight Paul Craig will step in to face Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in the co-main event of UFC São Paulo, UFC has announced.

The card is scheduled to take place on November 16 at Ginásio do Ibirapuera, with the headliner pitting Jan Błachowicz against Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. The co-main event was also set to be a light heavyweight showcase with Sam Alvey facing Rua, but now, it’ll be “Bearjew” Craig that steps in for the biggest fight of his life.

Craig currently possesses a 4-4 record in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and a 12-4 record overall, although he has won three of his last five, all via submission, with all three wins earning him a Performance of the Night bonus.

Scotland’s Craig has always been a great personality to have around the UFC, and if he can pull off the win against a legend like “Shogun”, he’ll be in a great position to climb up the rankings in the division.

Alas, the 37-year-old Rua isn’t the kind of fighter that can or should be taken lightly, having picked up four wins in his last five which includes a great TKO triumph over Tyson Pedro in December 2018.

Plenty of fans have been critical of the UFC over the years for putting on fight cards that are considered to be a little bit weak, but regardless of how you feel about the rest of the fights, there’s no way of getting around the fact that this is going to be a fun one.

Whether or not Paul Craig can take advantage of this opportunity remains to be seen.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 10/30/2019.