Craig vs Rua

Who won Craig vs Rua?

Paul Craig beat Mauricio Rua by knockout in the 2nd round during the main card of UFC 255, on Saturday 21st November 2020 at UFC APEX in Las Vegas.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Light Heavyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 205 pounds (14.6 stone or 93 KG).

Craig vs Rua stats

Paul Craig stepped into the octagon with a record of 13 wins, 4 losses and 1 draw, 1 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 12 by submission.

Mauricio Rua made his way to the cage with a record of 27 wins, 11 losses and 1 draw, 21 of those wins coming by knock out and 1 by submission.

Paul Craig's UFC record stood at 9-7-1, while Mauricio Rua's came in at 11-12-1.

The stats suggested Rua had a massive power advantage over Craig, boasting a 78% knock out percentage over Craig's 8%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Craig had a massive advantage over Rua, boasting a 92% submission rate over Rua's 4%.

Paul Craig was the younger man by 6 years, at 36 years old.

Craig had a height advantage of 2 inches over Rua. Despite this, both fighters had equal reach.

Craig was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 21 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2013, 10 years and 9 months later than Rua, whose first professional fight was in 2002. He had fought 44 less professional rounds, 41 to Rua's 85.

Craig vs Rua form

Paul Craig had beaten 2 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Gadzhimurad Antigulov at UFC Fight Island 3 on 25th July 2020 by submission in the 1st round at UFC Fight Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Previous to that, he had drawn with Mauricio Rua at UFC on ESPN+ 22 on 16th November 2019 by split draw in their 3 round contest at Ibirapuera Gymnasium, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Going into that contest, he had lost to Alonzo Menifield at UFC on ESPN 3 on 29th June 2019 by knockout in the 1st round at Target Center, Minneapolis, United States.

Before that, he had beaten Kennedy Nzechukwu at UFC on ESPN 2 on 30th March 2019 by submission in the 3rd round at Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia.

He had been beaten by Jimmy Crute at UFC Fight Night 142 on 1st December 2018 by submission in the 3rd round at Adelaide Entertainment Center, Adelaide, South Australia.

Rua had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had defeated Ant nio Rog rio Nogueira at UFC Fight Island 3 on 25th July 2020 by split decision in their 3 round contest at UFC Fight Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Previous to that, he had drawn with Paul Craig at UFC on ESPN+ 22 on 16th November 2019 by split draw in their 3 round contest at Ibirapuera Gymnasium, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Going into that contest, he was victorious against Tyson Pedro at UFC Fight Night 142 on 1st December 2018 by knockout in the 3rd round at Adelaide Entertainment Center, Adelaide, South Australia.

Before that, he had been defeated by Anthony Smith at UFC Fight Night 134 on 22nd July 2018 by knockout in the 1st round at Barclaycard Arena, Hamburg, Germany.

He had won against Gian Villante at UFC Fight Night 106 on 11th March 2017 by knockout in the 3rd round at Olympic Training Center, Fortaleza, Brazil.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Paul Craig had been fighting more than Mauricio Rua.

Going to this contest, Paul Craig had last fought 3 years, 9 months and 2 days ago, while Mauricio Rua's last outing had been 3 years, 9 months and 2 days ago.

Craig's last 5 fights had come over a period of 5 years, 4 months and 26 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year and 29 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 11 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.2 rounds on average.

Rua's last 5 fights had come over a period of 7 years, 1 month and 16 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 5 months and 4 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 13 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.6 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Craig vs Rua?

Sorry, we couldn’t find any historical odds for Craig vs Rua.