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UFC Vegas 82: Brendan Cody Allen vs. Paul Craig, November 18
https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/events/101867-ufc-fight-night
https://fightodds.io/odds/4778/ufc-fight-night-allen-vs-craig/
Brendan Allen: When he can find a top position, he’s lethal in his pursuit of submissions, having a vast array of chokes at his disposal to work in with his vicious ground-and-pound. He’s also sharp when it comes to reversing position or creating submission threats from the bottom in his guard, making his opponents more hesitant to shoot take downs as he’s progr essed through the UFC. Allen’s improvement in his striking has allowed him to create more opportunities to take the fight to the ground, where he truly shines as a submission artist. He’s much more comfortable to exchange in the pocket than he was when he first broke into the UFC. In his most recent bouts, he has displayed fairly technical striking, incorporating more body kicks and slicker footwork. Brenden Allen is a well-rounded fighter, standing in a conventional stance without fear of ending up anywhere. What that means is he is happy to stand or take the fight to the ground and has even admitted to neglecting takedown defense in some camps because he is so comfortable fighting off of his back.
Paul Craig has taken out the likes of Shogun Rua, along with Gadzhimurad Antigulov, Jamahal Hill, and Nikita Krylov all by finish. Early on, the Scotsman was criticized for his readiness to go to his back before showing fans what is truly possible when you dedicate yourself to your craft, his being a vicious submission game from his guard. Craig broke Hill’s arm and locked in one of the fastest triangle chokes fans have ever seen to finish Krylov. Paul Craig is a long, rangy fighter on the feet, and he has a variety of strikes to choose from. One of the most interesting sets of tools he has is his kicks, which is able to throw freely without fearing being taken too much due to his confidence off of his back. This has allowed him to throw spinning hooks kicks and a variety of other high kicks against major takedown threats like Shogun Rua. However, his kicks are not especially fast or explosive, they are accurate and technically sound, but he throws them with a level of aggression that almost invites his opponents to catch them. His body kicks in particular have a relatively high level of wind up which telegraphs them. His hands, likewise, have a bit of fat on them, and when he is throwing hooks in particular, there is a moment of wind up before they are thrown, and they aren’t the fastest in the cage. That being said, this isn’t because he can’t. When fighting in the center of the octagon, he often puts a lot of weight on the rear leg, allowing him to maintain balance when defending single legs, and allowing him to slide out of range when he lands. He will often lean away from punches and make good use of reach, although does keep his chin just a little bit higher than those rooting for him are comfortable with. When he is the one pressing forward, specifically when he has trapped his opponents on the fence, is when he will commit his weight to his lead leg and throw much faster and harder punches as he tees off. He will do this when he threatens the standing guillotine from the clinch, in order to break and unload, also mixing in sharp elbows. His best punches by far are his jabs and crosses, as his straights tend to be a bit cleaner than anything looping. Off of his back, Craig’s game is very high risk and high reward. Fighting from guard he takes shots in essentially every fight before securing anything significant which causes him to basically lose out in scores and risk being knocked out before he can get anything off. Historically he does find that submission eventually. It would be wise for Craig to consider sacrifice throws or immediate sweep attempts off of pulling guard rather than immediately settling on his back, but regardless, allowing himself to end up underneath initially may be the clearest route to a takedown Paul Craig has.
https://www.tapology.com/fightcente...ht-brendan-all-in-allen-vs-paul-bearjew-craig
https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/events/101867-ufc-fight-night
https://fightodds.io/odds/4778/ufc-fight-night-allen-vs-craig/
Brendan Allen: When he can find a top position, he’s lethal in his pursuit of submissions, having a vast array of chokes at his disposal to work in with his vicious ground-and-pound. He’s also sharp when it comes to reversing position or creating submission threats from the bottom in his guard, making his opponents more hesitant to shoot take downs as he’s progr essed through the UFC. Allen’s improvement in his striking has allowed him to create more opportunities to take the fight to the ground, where he truly shines as a submission artist. He’s much more comfortable to exchange in the pocket than he was when he first broke into the UFC. In his most recent bouts, he has displayed fairly technical striking, incorporating more body kicks and slicker footwork. Brenden Allen is a well-rounded fighter, standing in a conventional stance without fear of ending up anywhere. What that means is he is happy to stand or take the fight to the ground and has even admitted to neglecting takedown defense in some camps because he is so comfortable fighting off of his back.
Paul Craig has taken out the likes of Shogun Rua, along with Gadzhimurad Antigulov, Jamahal Hill, and Nikita Krylov all by finish. Early on, the Scotsman was criticized for his readiness to go to his back before showing fans what is truly possible when you dedicate yourself to your craft, his being a vicious submission game from his guard. Craig broke Hill’s arm and locked in one of the fastest triangle chokes fans have ever seen to finish Krylov. Paul Craig is a long, rangy fighter on the feet, and he has a variety of strikes to choose from. One of the most interesting sets of tools he has is his kicks, which is able to throw freely without fearing being taken too much due to his confidence off of his back. This has allowed him to throw spinning hooks kicks and a variety of other high kicks against major takedown threats like Shogun Rua. However, his kicks are not especially fast or explosive, they are accurate and technically sound, but he throws them with a level of aggression that almost invites his opponents to catch them. His body kicks in particular have a relatively high level of wind up which telegraphs them. His hands, likewise, have a bit of fat on them, and when he is throwing hooks in particular, there is a moment of wind up before they are thrown, and they aren’t the fastest in the cage. That being said, this isn’t because he can’t. When fighting in the center of the octagon, he often puts a lot of weight on the rear leg, allowing him to maintain balance when defending single legs, and allowing him to slide out of range when he lands. He will often lean away from punches and make good use of reach, although does keep his chin just a little bit higher than those rooting for him are comfortable with. When he is the one pressing forward, specifically when he has trapped his opponents on the fence, is when he will commit his weight to his lead leg and throw much faster and harder punches as he tees off. He will do this when he threatens the standing guillotine from the clinch, in order to break and unload, also mixing in sharp elbows. His best punches by far are his jabs and crosses, as his straights tend to be a bit cleaner than anything looping. Off of his back, Craig’s game is very high risk and high reward. Fighting from guard he takes shots in essentially every fight before securing anything significant which causes him to basically lose out in scores and risk being knocked out before he can get anything off. Historically he does find that submission eventually. It would be wise for Craig to consider sacrifice throws or immediate sweep attempts off of pulling guard rather than immediately settling on his back, but regardless, allowing himself to end up underneath initially may be the clearest route to a takedown Paul Craig has.
https://www.tapology.com/fightcente...ht-brendan-all-in-allen-vs-paul-bearjew-craig
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