‘The young eat the old’ – British MMA legend retires after brutal knockout loss at UFC Paris

Paul Craig hung up his gloves on Saturday night following a devastating knockout loss to Modestas Bukauskas at UFC Paris.

Scotland’s most successful UFC fighter was competing for his contract when he squared off against Bukauskas in a light heavyweight clash at the Accor Arena.

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The 37-year-old had lost his last three outings, barring a no-contest with Rodolfo Bellato in June.

Craig entered the bout knowing that anything short of a win would spell the end of his UFC career.

But despite a spirited effort, Craig was knocked out by a vicious elbow on the ground in the closing seconds of the opening stanza.

In the immediate aftermath, he laid down his gloves in the centre of the Octagon and announced his retirement.

“Guys, thank you so much for the memories,” Craig said post-fight.

“This is why I do this, but in this sport, the young eat the old, and I’m old.”

What did Paul Craig achieve in his UFC career?

Craig’s final MMA record stands at 17-10-1-1 NC, with 21 of those fights coming under the UFC promotional banner (9-10-1-1 NC).

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt quickly rose to prominence thanks to his exceptional grappling skills.

Six of his nine UFC wins came via submission, which is the second most in light heavyweight history behind Glover Teixeira with seven.

The most famous of these came in March 2018 against future 205lbs champion Magomed Ankalaev.

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Craig had lost every single round convincingly, but he turned the tide by throwing up a Hail Mary triangle choke down the home stretch to force the tap with one second left on the clock.

Ankalaev became the first of three future or past UFC champions to fall at the hands of ‘The Bearjew’.

Next came Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua, whom Craig initially drew with before finishing the Brazilian with ground and pound in their rematch in November 2020.

His third, and undoubtedly most brutal win over a former champion, came against Jamahal Hill in June 2021.

Craig dislocated Hill’s left elbow with an armbar before landing some crushing elbows as the American’s arm flopped around like a fish out of water.

A follow-up win over Nikita Krylov in his next fight led to Craig breaking into the top 10 at light heavyweight.

However, a downturn in form over the last three years has seen him fall out of title contention.