Andrew Craig

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.

Andrew Craig
BornAndrew Brendan Craig
(1986-01-15) January 15, 1986
Houston, Texas, United States
Other namesHighlight
ResidenceAustin, Texas, United States
NationalityAmerican
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight171 lb (78 kg; 12.2 st)
DivisionMiddleweight
Welterweight
Reach76 in (193 cm)[1]
StanceOrthodox
Fighting out ofHouston, Texas, United States
TeamTeam Tooke
RankBlack belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Travis Tooke[2]
Years active2010–2015
Mixed martial arts record
Total13
Wins9
By knockout3
By submission1
By decision5
Losses4
By knockout1
By submission1
By decision2
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

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 the head MMA coach at 10th Planet Austin and Director of Partnership Development for UFC Vet Tim Kennedy. [18]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown
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
  1. "Fight Card - UFC Fight Night Mir vs. Duffee". UFC.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  2. 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).
  3. Mixed martial arts show results Date: July 6, 2013
  4. "Fight Path: Team Tooke's Andrew Craig returns to HDNet for Legacy title defense". mmajunkie.com. September 15, 2011.
  5. "World traveler Andrew Craig happy not to be playing villain role at UFC Fight Night 39". 8 April 2014.
  6. "Andrew Craig replaces Jared Hamman, meets Kyle Noke at UFC on FX 2". 1 January 2012. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012.
  7. "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.
  8. "UFC makes official Jan. 19 card in Brazil". MMAjunkie.com. November 3, 2012. Archived from the original on November 6, 2012.
  9. 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.
  10. "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.
  11. Staff (26 October 2013). "UFC Fight Night 30 bonuses: Machida, Musoke, Barnatt and Craig earn $50k awards". MMAjunkie.com. Retrieved 2013-10-26.
  12. Alex Schlinsky (25 February 2014). "UFC Fight Night 39: Abu Dhabi adds ten fights". fansided.com. Retrieved 2014-02-25.
  13. John Morgan (2014-04-10). "Illness scraps Andrew Craig vs. Chris Camozzi at UFC Fight Night 39". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2014-04-10.
  14. Daniel Saludo (2014-04-22). "Craig to fight Ferreira in San Antonio". csnhouston.com. Retrieved 2014-04-22.
  15. Staff (May 11, 2015). "Andrew Craig vs. Edgar Garcia added to UFC Fight Night 71 in San Diego". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  16. 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.
  17. 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.
  18. Dan Regester (May 5, 2020). "Combat Sports Minute: UFC 249" (Podcast).
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