UFC 255: Paul Craig forces Shogun Rua to tap out through PUNCHES after MMA legend gave Scot 'oil che
Paul Craig's ascension in UFC continued on Saturday night as he grabbed an important win over an MMA legend at UFC 255.
After fighting to a draw just over one year ago, Craig and Shogun Rua met inside the octagon once more and this time The Bearjew got the job done emphatically.
Rua is, of course, a former UFC light heavyweight champion but at 38 is not at the peak of his powers anymore. Still, he provided a proven roadblock for the hungry Scot shot who duly delivered with a second-round knockout.
In fact, what makes this knockout all the more special is that Craig's flurry of punches actually forced Rua to tap, a rarity in UFC.
With Rua lying prone on his front, Craig had fully mounted his opponent's back and was just raining down shots. After taking several clean shots, Rua finally decided he had enough and tapped mid-flurry.
Earlier in the fight, Rua had given Craig an 'oil check' - which is essentially shoving his fingers up his opponents behind - that had Joe Rogan astounded at ringside.
After the fight, Craig seemed unfazed by the veteran tactic.
He said: "Normally someone would have to take me for a meal before they done that.
"It was exhilarating, it gave me a wee spring in my step."
Craig is now unbeaten in four outings. He was 15th in the light-heavyweight rankings, but after defeating Rua who was one spot ahead of him, he will now be on the verge of hitting the top 10.
The light-heavyweight division in UFC has been left wide-open since Jon Jones' move up to heavyweight and Jan Blachowicz is the new champion.
It seems as though middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is going to move up and challenge for the 205lb title in the near future but if Craig can get a couple more wins under his belt, he'll be near the front of the queue.
ncG1vNJzZmiskaG4tLzOq6tnm5%2BifLa6wpqrnp%2Bfp7a7scNobnJqZ2qGcLzArqNmm6KWtqh50qGmoK2eYr%2B2rYyunZxlYmqCcA%3D%3D