Paul Craig will not be retiring when he turns 35 as he previously has said.
Craig is currently 34-years-old and turns 35 in November and said this would be his last year competing. However, at UFC London, he picked up a submission over Nikita Krylov to improve him to 5-0-1 in his last six. During this run, he has beat Jamahal Hill, Shogun Rua, and now Krylov while also being the only person to beat Magomed Ankalaev.
With Craig still having success in the sport, he says he still has a lot of fight left in him and will continue to fight as long as his body feels good.
“When I first started the sport at the age of 24, I looked at the ages of the fighters in my division, and 35 seemed like a really good number,” Craig said Monday on The MMA Hour. “I felt like 35 was a number where you could leave the sport, still have your mental clarity, and still feel good about yourself. The sport’s evolved so much since I first started watching the sport to now, I believe that I’ve got a little bit more mustard in the tub. You know that wee bit in the corner where you really can’t really get with the knife. I’ve got that wee bit of mustard still left in me.
“I’ve still got a lot of mental clarity. My fights don’t go that long, and the ones that do go long, I typically don’t get a lot of headshots,” Craig added. “It’s mostly body shots, a lot of grappling. So I believe I’ve still got something left in me, and after that victory this weekend, I believe that I’ve got more to do in this sport and I’m so close to being a name in this sport.”
After the win, Paul Craig also called out Anthony Smith for the main event which does make a ton of sense. However, ‘BearJew’ says he won’t turn anyone down but does want to fight someone ahead of him.
“I’m always looking up. I’ve fought the guys at the back and I’ve fought the guys just coming in. I believe I’ve done my dues, I’ve paid my dues,” Craig said.
