Mauricio Rua vs. Paul Craig – Preview & Matchup Analysis

UFC 255: Figueiredo vs. Perez is scheduled to take place on Saturday, November 21, 2020, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. In one of the matchups on the fight card, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will take on Paul “Bearjew” Craig in the Light Heavyweight Bout. You can view the full UFC 255 card.

In this post, we will break down Mauricio Rua vs. Paul Craig matchup. Let’s take look at the fighter’s ages, their height, records, reach, fight stats and more below ⤵

The 42-year-old, Mauricio Rua is coming in with a 27-11-1 record. Rua will be fighting for the first time since a win via split decision against Rogerio Nogueira at UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Till in July.

Craig, meanwhile, is coming off a submission win against Gadzhimurad Antigulov on July 25, 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Till and holds a 13-4-1 record.

Mauricio Rua has an orthodox fighting stance with a 76″ reach. The 36-year-old, Paul Craig is an orthodox fighter with a 76″ reach. An orthodox fighter stands with their left side forward and jabs with their left hand, the southpaw fighter is the opposite, southpaw stands with their right side forward and jabs with their right hand. In most cases, orthodox fighters are right-handed, if you are left-handed, then you fight southpaw.

Mauricio Rua:
→ Rua’s striking accuracy is 50%.
→ Rua lands 3.63 significant strikes per minute.
→ Rua’s takedown accuracy is 48%.
→ Rua’s takedown average is 2.17 per 15 minutes.
→ Rua’s takedown defense is 47%.

Rua comes in with 50% striking accuracy, typically landing about 3.63 significant strikes every minute. On the other side, Craig fires at 48% accuracy, landing about 2.30 significant strikes per minute. Mauricio Rua also has a 48% takedown accuracy and on average gets around 2.17 takedowns every 15 minutes, compared to Craig’s 1.61 takedowns and 55% takedown accuracy.

Paul Craig:
→ Craig’s striking accuracy is 48%.
→ Craig lands 2.30 significant strikes per minute.
→ Craig’s takedown accuracy is 21%.
→ Craig’s takedown average is 1.61 per 15 minutes.
→ Craig’s takedown defense is 55%.

Paul spent on average 8:24 minutes in the Octagon and Mauricio has an average fight time of 9:03 minutes.

This looks like an interesting matchup, at least on paper. UFC 255 is live in , who do you think will win, Mauricio or Paul? Sound off in the comments.

You can view the scheduled UFC 255 fight card, upcoming UFC schedule 2020, and latest MMA news.