Paul Craig

ANALYSIS
After losing four of five fights, Craig will essentially server as a gatekeeper for an undefeated prospect in Nickal, whose biggest strength is his wrestling. That won't bother Craig, who is plenty comfortable on the mat and more than capable of throwing up submissions from his back. In fact, several of Craig's signature wins have materialized in that exact manner. Nonetheless, the UFC wants to put its marketing machine behind Nickal and likely believes that Craig, at the age of 36, could be on his way out. The Scotsman will look to prove the company wrong.

ANALYSIS
Outside of an immediate defeat, Craig literally could not have looked any worse. Paul was never much of a striker, even in his heyday, as he has just four career wins via knockout. Now 36 years of age, he had zero chance of competing with Borralho in a kickboxing match. Caio was wisely unwilling to go to the mat with Craig, forcing him to stand whenever Paul attempted to get the fight to the ground. Craig has victories over the likes of Jamahal Hill and Magomed Ankalaev in his UFC career, but he's never been any sort of legitimate contender while spending most of his career at light heavyweight. A loser of four of his last five and not the least bit competitive in the last three of them, Craig appears to be just about out of time.

ANALYSIS
Craig's loss to Brendan Allen in his last fight put him at 1-3 across his last four bouts. Meanwhile, Borralho is trending in the opposite direction after winning his first five fights since joining the UFC in April 2022.

ANALYSIS
Craig -- a long-time light heavyweight -- looked great in his middleweight debut against Andre Muniz in July, but predictably and quickly learned things wouldn't be so easy against an opponent in Allen that looks like a legitimate future title contender. Craig has pulled off countless miracle submissions over the course of his career, but he had zero answers for the physicality of Allen, who spent the vast majority of the fight in top position. All things considered, Craig was lucky to survive as long as he did. Paul will be 35 years of age in late November. Sure, the Muniz win looks great, as does his June 2021 knockout win over former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jamahal Hill, but the truth of the matter is that Craig has lost three of four dating back to July 2022 and is lightyears away from title contention in any division.

ANALYSIS
Craig will look to jump over Allen, No. 10, in the UFC's middleweight rankings by defeating the latter in a five-rounder in mid-November. Craig will look to create a new streak after defeating Andre Muniz via TKO in his last fight.