Mauricio Rua needed a new opponent for UFC Fight Night Sao Paulo after the withdrawal of Sam Alvey and now he has one because Paul Craig has reportedly accepted the short notice opportunity.
Marcel Dorff of MMA DNA first reported the card change, but the bout is expected to remain the co-main event of the show.
Rua (26-11-0) has won four of his last five under the UFC banner, with those wins coming over Tyson Pedro, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Corey Anderson and Gian Villante. Rua is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, defeating Lyoto Machida by first round knockout at UFC 113 to claim the gold. Rua has picked up twenty six wins as a professional MMA fighter and twenty one of them came by way of KO/TKO.
Craig (12-4-0) has won three of his last seven in the UFC, with those wins coming over Magomed Ankalaev, Kennedy Nzechukwu and Vinicius Moreira. Craig has competed a total of sixteen times as a professional MMA fighter and none of those bouts went the distance. Craig has picked up twelve wins as a professional MMA fighter and eleven of them came by way of submission.
UFC Fight Night Sao Paulo takes place on Saturday, November 16 from the Ibirapueroa Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil with Jan Blachowicz and Ronaldo Souza headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which streams live on ESPN+.
