Brendan Allen and Paul will go to war when they meet in the middleweight main event of a UFC Fight Night set for the APEX Facility in Las Vegas on Sunday morning.
Allen (25-2) has risen to No 9 in the middleweight rankings on the back of a five-fight win streak, most recently defeating Bruno Silva with a first-round submission in June.
The 27-year-old, who hails from South Carolina and is nicknamed ‘All In’, is confident that he can get the better of any opponent.
“I fear no man,” Allen said. “I turn down no fight. If that’s what he wants, he can come get it. I don’t care. Anyone can get it. ‘C*mshot’ [Khamzat Chimaev], [Jared] Cannonier, [Marvin] Vettori – anyone. They can all get it.
“I don’t care. What? He’s going to try to take me down? Congratulations – you could take me down. I’ll jump guard, but what are you going to do with it? I’m a different beast. On my back, on top, it doesn’t matter. I’m a different beast.”
Craig (17-6) recently bounced back to form (after successive defeats to Johnny Walker and Volkan Oezdemir) with a second-round TKO of Andre Muniz in July in his middleweight debut.
The 35-year-old Scottish fighter says he is a happier, healthier fighter dropping down from the light heavyweight category.
“There’s been a few eye-openers in cutting weight. I was a light heavyweight for 12 years of my career and I’ve decided to move down,” explained the ‘Bear Jew’.
“I feel much better in my skin, I feel much better in my body. I look physically more muscular. Even though it’s just a little bit of muscle, my body fat has gone way down, so all the kinds of things, all the numbers that I’m producing in training have been through the roof.”
The rest of the main card features a welterweight clash between Michael Morales and Jake Matthews; Chase Hooper v Jordan Leavitt in the lightweight division; a bantamweight battle between Payton Talbott and Nick Aguirre; Luana Pinheiro and Amanda Ribas will meet in a women’s strawweight match; and a welterweight opener pits Jonny Parsons against Uros Medic.
UFC FIGHT NIGHT: Allen v Craig – Main card
- Main event: Middleweight: Brendan Allen v Paul Craig
- Welterweight: Michael Morales v Jake Matthews
- Lightweight: Chase Hooper v Jordan Leavitt
- Bantamweight: Payton Talbott v Nick Aguirre
- Women’s strawweight: Luana Pinheiro v Amanda Ribas
- Welterweight: Jonny Parsons v Uros Medic