Brendan Allen vs. Paul Craig: Excellent grappling showdown ends in submission victory at UFC Vegas 82

UFC Vegas 82 saw a fantastic stylistic matchup take center stage on Saturday night. In the middleweight division, Paul Craig hoped to build on his impressive debut in the weight class. To do so, the Scotland native had to outwork the rising talent Brendan Allen who had been on the form of his life heading into the bout.

Winning each of his last five outings inside the cage, ‘All In’ has his sights firmly set on entering the title picture for the first time in his UFC career. Both men excel in the grappling department, which was on full display during their main event affair.

Intensity was high between the pair as they stared each other down inside the octagon as their names were introduced. Seconds ahead of the fight getting underway, Paul Craig refused to touch gloves with his opponent, adding even more tension to the clash.

NO TOUCH ❌ #UFCVegas82 pic.twitter.com/yo3bdbknHi

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) November 19, 2023

The opening minute didn’t see much action as they were undergoing a feeling-out process. Craig initiated a grappling exchange but it was Allen who landed a beautiful takedown of his own and secured a dominant position on the ground.

As the first round was coming to an end, the middleweights were involved in a great sequence on the mat. After ‘Bearjew’ was caught in a tight-looking rear naked choke, he locked in a calf slicer that forced his opposition to release the choke. The two then took turns attempting to lock in submissions in a fast-paced moment which brought the round to an end.

GORGEOUS grappling exchanges between Craig & Allen😮‍💨 #UFCVegas82 pic.twitter.com/ivaJvkjIpm

— 𝐉𝐚𝐲🤼 (@JayMMA4) November 19, 2023

Related: UFC Vegas 82 Live Results: Allen vs. Craig

Shortly into the second round, both men landed huge strikes on one another which looked to rock the two main eventers. The European looked the more hurt of the two and in turn, he handed his challenger top control.

Brendan Allen began landing punishing strikes and threatening submissions from the top as the halfway point of the round passed by. Despite being dominated for the majority of the meeting thus far, Paul Craig wasn’t completely out of the fight and still had enough to throw up submission attempts from the bottom.

Allen was the better fighter on the night and damaged his opponent on the feet early into the third round before another grappling exchange ensued. It didn’t take long for the 27-year-old’s pressure to overwhelm Craig and that led to the eventual rear naked choke submission victory.

🤯 🤯 🤯@BrendanAllenMMA gets the submission victory over Paul Craig! #UFCVegas82 pic.twitter.com/zxWxxxxD6v

— UFC_AUSNZ (@UFC_AUSNZ) November 19, 2023