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Paul Craig once again proved his worth earlier tonight (Sat., Sept. 21, 2019) at UFC Fight Night 159 live on ESPN+ from inside Arena Ciudad de Mexico in Mexico City, when he stopped Brazilian submission specialist Vinicius Moreira via first-round rear-naked choke.
The finish came with a little less than two minutes left in the first round as Craig landed a vicious knee in the clinch that dropped Moreira to the canvas. Craig jumped on top and landed heavy punches from top position. Moreira tried to survive by returning to his feet but “Bearjew” immediately put himself into position to sink in the rear-naked choke. It was the first time Moreira has tapped in his professional MMA career.
Check out the video highlights above courtesy of UFC/ESPN.
With this performance, Craig gets back into the UFC’s light heavyweight win column after getting steamrolled by Alonzo Menifield via knockout back in June. The 31-year-old Scottish fighter has now secured submission finishes in each of his four UFC victories, but has also dropped four bouts by way of knockout or submission. Regardless, this most recent win for Craig should keep him afloat at 205 pounds entering 2020.
For complete UFC Mexico City results and coverage click here.