Andrew Craig
| Andrew Craig | |
|---|---|
| Born | Andrew Brandon Craig January 15, 1986 Houston, Texas, United States |
| Other names | Highlight |
| Residence | Houston, Texas, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 171 lb (78 kg; 12.2 st) |
| Division | Middleweight Welterweight |
| Reach | 76 in (193 cm)[1] |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Fighting out of | Houston, Texas, United States |
| Team | Team Tooke |
| Rank | Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Travis Tooke[2] |
| Years active | 2010–2015 |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 13 |
| Wins | 9 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 5 |
| Losses | 4 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 2 |
| Other information | |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Andrew Brandon Craig (born January 15, 1986)[3] is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2010, he has also competed for Bellator.
Background
Craig is from Houston, Texas, and grew up playing mainly football, but dabbled with a bunch of other sports too.[4] He started football in the third grade, and played as running back.[4] He graduated Stratford High School (Houston)[5] before going to college at the University of Texas where he earned a degree in corporate communications. Craig began learning Brazilian jiu-jitsu from his cousin – Travis Tooke – who was already a black belt in the martial art.[4] Without any other martial art background, Craig started training mixed martial arts as a college freshman.[4] After graduating college, Craig began his career as a professional MMA fighter.
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Craig made his professional debut in May 2010 for USA MMA winning his first fight via unanimous decision. His second fight was held at Bellator 27 against Rodrigo Pinheiro. Craig won the fight after the cageside doctor ruled Pinheiro unable to continue. Craig won two fights under the International Xtreme Fight Association banner before signing with the Texas-based promotion Legacy Fighting Championships.
Legacy Fighting Championships
Craig made his Legacy Fighting Championships debut on April 9, 2011 against William Bush for the Legacy Fighting middleweight title. In the fifth and final round, Craig won the fight via TKO.
Craig was set to make his first title defense at Legacy Fighting 8 against Bellator and WEC veteran, Eric Schambari. However, Schambari weighed in past the middleweight limit and the fight became a three round non-title fight. Craig won the fight via unanimous decision.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Craig made his UFC debut on short notice as an injury replacement for Jared Hamman against Australian Kyle Noke on March 3, 2012 at UFC on FX 2.[6] Despite losing the first round, Craig came back to dominate the second and third rounds, winning via unanimous decision.
Craig defeated Rafael Natal on July 11, 2012 at UFC on Fuel TV: Munoz vs. Weidman.[7] After being rocked and controlled for the majority of the second round, Craig landed a head kick to capture a comeback knockout victory.
In his third fight for the promotion, Craig faced Ronny Markes on January 19, 2013 at UFC on FX 7.[8] He lost the fight via unanimous decision. It was the first loss of his professional career.
Craig defeated former WEC Middleweight Champion Chris Leben via split decision on July 6, 2013 at UFC 162.[9]
Craig took on English fighter Luke Barnatt in his next outing on October 26, 2013 at UFC Fight Night 30.[10] He lost the fight via submission in the second round. Despite the loss on his record, the fight also earned Craig his first Fight of the Night bonus award.[11]
Craig was expected to face Chris Camozzi on April 11, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 39.[12] However, the fight was cancelled on the day of the weigh-ins as Craig was ruled out with an illness.[13]
Craig faced Cezar Ferreira on June 28, 2014 at UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Stephens.[14] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Craig was expected to face Edgar Garcia in a welterweight bout on July 15, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 71.[15] However, Garcia was forced from the bout with injury and replaced by promotional newcomer Lyman Good.[16] Craig lost the fight via TKO in the second round and was subsequently released from the promotion following the loss.[17]
Personal life
Craig works as a manager at Onnit.[18]
Championships and accomplishments
- Legacy Fighting Championship
- Legacy FC Middleweight Championship (One time)
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Luke Barnatt
Mixed martial arts record
| 13 matches | 9 wins | 4 losses |
| By knockout | 3 | 1 |
| By submission | 1 | 1 |
| By decision | 5 | 2 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 9–4 | Lyman Good | KO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Mir vs. Duffee | July 15, 2015 | 2 | 3:37 | San Diego, California, United States | Welterweight debut. |
| Loss | 9–3 | Cezar Ferreira | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Stephens | June 28, 2014 | 3 | 5:00 | San Antonio, Texas, United States | |
| Loss | 9–2 | Luke Barnatt | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Munoz | October 26, 2013 | 2 | 2:12 | Manchester, England | Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 9–1 | Chris Leben | Decision (split) | UFC 162 | July 6, 2013 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 8–1 | Ronny Markes | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping | January 19, 2013 | 3 | 5:00 | São Paulo, Brazil | |
| Win | 8–0 | Rafael Natal | KO (head kick) | UFC on Fuel TV: Munoz vs. Weidman | July 11, 2012 | 2 | 4:52 | San Jose, California, United States | |
| Win | 7–0 | Kyle Noke | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on FX: Alves vs. Kampmann | March 3, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Sydney, Australia | |
| Win | 6–0 | Eric Schambari | Decision (unanimous) | Legacy FC 8 | September 16, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Houston, Texas, United States | Schambari missed weight; non-title bout |
| Win | 5–0 | William Bush | TKO (punches) | Legacy FC 6 | April 9, 2011 | 5 | 2:47 | Houston, Texas, United States | Won the Legacy FC Middleweight Championship. |
| Win | 4–0 | Jon Kirk | Submission (triangle choke) | IXFA 5 | February 26, 2011 | 2 | 1:04 | Houston, Texas, United States | |
| Win | 3–0 | Josh Foster | Decision (unanimous) | IXFA 4 | December 4, 2010 | 3 | 3:00 | Houston, Texas, United States | |
| Win | 2–0 | Rodrigo Pinheiro | TKO (doctor stoppage) | Bellator 27 | September 2, 2010 | 3 | 2:53 | San Antonio, Texas, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Antuan Williams | Decision (unanimous) | USA MMA 12 | May 22, 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Kinder, Louisiana, United States |
See also
References
- ^ "Fight Card - UFC Fight Night Mir vs. Duffee". UFC.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
- ^ Travis Tooke (March 2, 2020). "Jiu-jitsu Black Belt and former UFC Fighter Andrew Craig joins the Tooke Talks podcast. Andrew and Travis are cousins and this interview was like all other get togethers...lots of laughs!" (Podcast).
- ^ Mixed martial arts show results Date: July 6, 2013
- ^ a b c d "Fight Path: Team Tooke's Andrew Craig returns to HDNet for Legacy title defense". mmajunkie.com. September 15, 2011.
- ^ https://mmajunkie.com/2014/04/world-traveler-andrew-craig-happy-not-to-be-playing-villain-role-at-ufc-fight-night-39
- ^ "Andrew Craig replaces Jared Hamman, meets Kyle Noke at UFC on FX 2". 1 January 2012. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012.
- ^ "Rafael Natal vs. Andrew Craig slated for UFC on FUEL TV 4". mmajunkie.com. May 16, 2012. Archived from the original on May 19, 2012.
- ^ "UFC makes official Jan. 19 card in Brazil". MMAjunkie.com. November 3, 2012. Archived from the original on November 6, 2012.
- ^ Staff (2013-03-12). "Craig vs. Leben added to July's UFC 162 event". MMAjunkie.com. Archived from the original on March 14, 2013. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
- ^ "Two Middleweight Bouts Confirmed For UFC Manchester 2013". YourMMA.tv. 2013-08-22. Archived from the original on January 2, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
- ^ Staff. "UFC Fight Night 30 bonuses: Machida, Musoke, Barnatt and Craig earn $50k awards". MMAjunkie.com. Retrieved 2013-10-26.
- ^ Alex Schlinsky. "UFC Fight Night 39: Abu Dhabi adds ten fights". fansided.com. Retrieved 2014-02-25.
- ^ John Morgan (2014-04-10). "Illness scraps Andrew Craig vs. Chris Camozzi at UFC Fight Night 39". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2014-04-10.
- ^ Daniel Saludo (2014-04-22). "Craig to fight Ferreira in San Antonio". csnhouston.com. Retrieved 2014-04-22.
- ^ Staff (May 11, 2015). "Andrew Craig vs. Edgar Garcia added to UFC Fight Night 71 in San Diego". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
- ^ Staff (2015-06-24). "Lyman Good signs with UFC, replaces Edgar Garcia at UFC Fight Night 71 against Andrew Craig". themmareport.com. Retrieved 2015-06-24.
- ^ Ben Fowlkes (2015-07-15). "UFC Fight Night 71 results: Lyman Good flattens Andrew Craig with second-round TKO". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2015-07-15.
- ^ Dan Regester (May 5, 2020). "Combat Sports Minute: UFC 249" (Podcast).
