NEW YORK – Paul Craig sees his jiu-jitsu being Bo Nickal’s kryptonite.
Craig (17-8-1 MMA, 9-8-1 UFC) takes on highly touted Nickal (6-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) on Saturday’s UFC 309 (pay-per-view, ESPNews/Hulu/FX, ESPN+) main card at Madison Square Garden in New York. Nickal has predominantly used his wrestling in his six professional fights, but Craig warns that it could lead to his demise.
“He’s still a little green in the color,” Craig said of Nickal during Wednesday’s UFC 309 media day. “He might have all these credentials in the world of wrestling, but this sport is not wrestling. We incorporate wrestling, and it’s like only having a knife in a gun fight. You need to have all the tools, and I believe my tool belt is much more equipped than his. I do believe the roots to my victory is going to be my jiu-jitsu base.”
Wrestling might be Nickal’s world, but Craig said battling off his back is where he’s best. He was able to finish both former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill and top contender Magomed Ankalaev while in bottom position.
“Will Bo take me down? Yes,” Craig said. “Will that be a bad idea for Bo? I believe so. I believe if you pin me on my back, that’s where I’m most dangerous, and we’ve seen that against people like Krylov, when I’ve been on my back against Jamahal Hill. This is where I’m most dangerous. So, I do believe that his game plan should not be to take me down and have me flat on my back.”
Nickal was able to show off his hands recently in a 38-second TKO win of Val Woodburn, and Craig acknowledges that. However, he expects his striking to pose bigger problems.
“He’s a very good striker, he’s got power in his hands, and he’s very, very quick,” Craig said. “But I do believe that my striking is just a little bit longer, and I can use that range. The reason we moved down to middleweight is to gain that advantage in size, and I’ve showcased that against people like (Andre) Muniz in London where I used my range, my length to manipulate the distance between the fight, and I’m looking to copy that in this fight.”
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