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.

This was Paul Craig's 18th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2016. Johnny Walker marked his 14th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2018.

Paul Craig's UFC record stood at 9-8-1, while Johnny Walker's came in at 7-6-0.

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 4 less professional rounds, 43 to Walker's 47.

Craig vs Walker form

Paul Craig had beaten 1 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, 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.

Previous to that, 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.

Going into that contest, he had won against Kennedy Nzechukwu at UFC on ESPN 2 on 30th March 2019 by submission in the 3rd round at Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia.

Before that, 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.

He had been defeated by Khalil Rountree at UFC Fight Night 113 on 16th July 2017 by knockout in the 1st round at SSE Hydro Arena, Glasgow, Scotland.

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 beaten 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 lost to 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 beaten 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 defeated Ryan Spann at UFC Vegas 11 on 19th September 2020 by knockout in the 1st round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

He had been defeated by 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, Johnny Walker had been fighting more than Paul Craig.

Going to this contest, Paul Craig had last fought 4 years, 8 months and 8 days ago, while Johnny Walker's last outing had been 1 year, 10 months and 14 days ago.

Craig's last 5 fights had come over a period of 7 years and 8 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 4 months and 28 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 11 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.2 rounds on average.

Walker's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 4 months and 10 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 10 months and 14 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.