In a weird sidestep in competition, Scottish sensation Paul ‘Bearjew’ Craig takes on Nikita ‘The Miner’ Krylov. Craig is coming in hot after dislocating Jamahal Hill’s elbow in their bout back in June 2021. This was Hill’s first loss, and he’s since won two fights by knockout, so it’s aged well for Craig. Since Hill is now entering title contention, it seems a bit of a step down in competition for Craig to be fighting Krylov, but never the less, it has barn burner written all over it.
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Nikita Krylov vs Paul Craig Prediction
Paul Craig is a submission ace, and he’s handy on the feet too. With a massive 6’4 frame, Craig can generate some deceptive power, and his long legs create ample opportunities to set up triangle chokes on the ground.
Nikita Krylov on the other hand, has as many wins by submission as Craig has pro victories. Krylov’s record totals 27-8-0, with 11KO/TKO, 15 submissions, and 1 decision victory. Craig’s record by comparison is 15-4-1, 3 wins by KO/TKO and 12 by SUB. With only 1 decision victory in a combined 42 victories between these men, we can only expect a finish come Saturday night.
Krylov is better than Craig in two regards: His wrestling and his striking. Whilst his wrestling is better than Craig’s, he should seek to keep the fight standing, since Craig’s submission arsenal is very dangerous. Craig has shown unique vulnerability on the feet, and even found trouble with a faded Shogun Hua in their two fights. With Krylov’s wrestling, he should in theory be able to defend takedowns from Craig, which allows him to out strike him on the feet.
If Nikita keeps this on the feet, we can expect a KO/TKO victory from the Ukrainian. This is granted he doesn’t try and fight Craig on the ground.
My pick – Nikita Krylov by KO/TKO
Nikita Krylov vs Paul Craig Betting Suggestion
Bet365 has Krylov as a heavy favourite, with 8/15 odds to win out right. 11/8 to finish Craig by KO/TKO/DQ or Submission, and 11/4 odds to win by decision. My suggestion would be Krylov to win out right.
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Read my other predictions for UFC London
Nathaniel Wood vs Vince Morales
Muhammad Mokaev vs Cody Durden
Cory McKenna vs Elise Reed
Jack Shore vs Timur Valiev
Nikita Krylov vs Paul Craig
Shamil Abdurakhimov vs Sergei Pavlovich
Mike Grundy vs Makwan Amirkhani
Jai Herbert vs Ilia Topuria
Molly McCann vs Luana Carolina
Gunnar Nelson vs Takashi Sato
Paddy Pimblett vs Rodrigo Vargas
Arnold Allen vs Dan Hooker
Alexander Volkov vs Tom Aspinall
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