Craig vs Walker

Who won Craig vs Walker?

Johnny Walker beat Paul Craig by knockout in the 1st round during the main card of UFC 283, on Saturday 21st January 2023 at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro.

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 Walker stats

Paul Craig stepped into the octagon with a record of 16 wins, 5 losses and 1 draw, 3 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 13 by submission.

Johnny Walker made his way to the cage with a record of 19 wins, 7 losses and 0 draws, 15 of those wins coming by knock out and 3 by submission.

Paul Craig's UFC record stood at 9-7-1, while Johnny Walker's came in at 7-5-0.

The stats suggested Walker had a massive power advantage over Craig, boasting a 79% knock out percentage over Craig's 19%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Craig had a massive advantage over Walker, boasting a 81% submission rate over Walker's 16%.

Paul Craig was the older man by 4 years, at 36 years old.

Walker had a height advantage of 3 inches over Craig. That also extended to a 6-inch reach advantage.

Craig was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 4 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2013, 3 months earlier than Walker, whose first professional fight was in 2013. He had fought 5 less professional rounds, 41 to Walker's 46.

Craig vs Walker form

Craig had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going to the judges twice.

In his last fight before this contest, he had lost to Volkan Oezdemir at UFC Fight Night London on 23rd July 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at The O2, London, United Kingdom.

Previous to that, he had won against Nikita Krylov at UFC Fight Night London on 19th March 2022 by submission in the 1st round at 02 Arena, London.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Jamahal Hill at UFC 263 on 12th June 2021 by knockout in the 1st round at Gila River Arena, Glendale, United States.

Before that, he had defeated Mauricio Rua at UFC 255 on 21st November 2020 by knockout in the 2nd round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

He was victorious 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.

Walker had beaten 2 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Ion Cutelaba at UFC 279 on 10th September 2022 by submission in the 1st round at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had been beaten by Jamahal Hill at UFC Fight Night on 19th February 2022 by knockout in the 1st round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had been defeated by Thiago Santos at UFC Vegas 38 on 2nd October 2021 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Before that, he had beaten Ryan Spann at UFC Vegas 11 on 19th September 2020 by knockout in the 1st round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

He had lost to Nikita Krylov at UFC on ESPN+ 28 on 14th March 2020 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Ginásio Nilson Nelson, Brasilia, Brazil.

Activity check

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

Going to this contest, Paul Craig had last fought 1 year, 9 months and 2 days ago, while Johnny Walker's last outing had been 1 year, 7 months and 15 days ago.

Craig's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years and 9 months, meaning he had been fighting on average every 9 months and 1 day. In those fights, he fought a total of 8 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 1.6 rounds on average.

Walker's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 1 month and 11 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 9 months and 27 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 11 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.2 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Craig vs Walker?

Paul Craig was a 31/20 (+150) underdog going into the contest, while Johnny Walker made his way into the ring at 53/100 (-190) with oddsmakers.