Craig vs Walker

Who won Craig vs Walker?

Johnny Walker beat Paul Craig by knockout in the 1st round during the main card of UFC 283, on Saturday 21st January 2023 at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Light Heavyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 205 pounds (14.6 stone or 93 KG).

Craig vs Walker stats

Paul Craig stepped into the octagon with a record of 16 wins, 5 losses and 1 draw, 3 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 13 by submission.

Johnny Walker made his way to the cage with a record of 19 wins, 7 losses and 0 draws, 15 of those wins coming by knock out and 3 by submission.

This was Paul Craig's 18th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2016. Johnny Walker marked his 14th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2018.

Paul Craig's UFC record stood at 9-8-1, while Johnny Walker's came in at 7-6-0.

The stats suggested Walker had a massive power advantage over Craig, boasting a 79% knock out percentage over Craig's 19%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Craig had a massive advantage over Walker, boasting a 81% submission rate over Walker's 16%.

Paul Craig was the older man by 4 years, at 36 years old.

Walker had a height advantage of 3 inches over Craig. That also extended to a 6-inch reach advantage.

Craig was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 4 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2013, 3 months earlier than Walker, whose first professional fight was in 2013. He had fought 4 less professional rounds, 43 to Walker's 47.

Craig vs Walker form

Craig had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going to the judges once.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Jamahal Hill at UFC 263 on 12th June 2021 by knockout in the 1st round at Gila River Arena, Glendale, United States.

Previous to that, he had beaten Mauricio Rua at UFC 255 on 21st November 2020 by knockout in the 2nd round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Gadzhimurad Antigulov at UFC Fight Island 3 on 25th July 2020 by submission in the 1st round at UFC Fight Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Before that, he had drawn with Mauricio Rua at UFC on ESPN+ 22 on 16th November 2019 by split draw in their 3 round contest at Ibirapuera Gymnasium, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

He had lost to Alonzo Menifield at UFC on ESPN 3 on 29th June 2019 by knockout in the 1st round at Target Center, Minneapolis, United States.

Activity check

Craig's last 5 fights had come over a period of 5 years, 3 months and 16 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year and 22 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 8 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 1.6 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Craig vs Walker?

Paul Craig was a 31/20 (+150) underdog going into the contest, while Johnny Walker made his way into the ring at 53/100 (-190) with oddsmakers.