Andrew Brandon Craig (born January 15, 1986) is an American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who most recently competed in the

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

. A professional competitor since 2010, he has also competed for Bellator.

Background

Craig is from Houston, Texas, and grew up playing mainly football, but dabbled with a bunch of other sports too. He started football in the third grade, and played as

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

. He graduated

Stratford High School (Houston) Stratford High School is a secondary school in Houston, Texas, United States. The school is one of four high schools in the Spring Branch Independent School District (SBISD), the district's westernmost secondary school (serving grades 9 through ...

before going to college at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

where he earned a degree in corporate communications. Craig began learning Brazilian jiu-jitsu from his cousin – Travis Tooke – who was already a black belt in the martial art. Without any other martial art background, Craig started training mixed martial arts as a college freshman. After graduating college, Craig began his career as a professional MMA fighter.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Craig made his professional debut in May 2010 for USA MMA winning his first fight via unanimous decision. His second fight was held at Bellator 27 against Rodrigo Pinheiro. Craig won the fight after the cageside doctor ruled Pinheiro unable to continue. Craig won two fights under the International Xtreme Fight Association banner before signing with the Texas-based promotion Legacy Fighting Championships.

Legacy Fighting Championships

Craig made his Legacy Fighting Championships debut on April 9, 2011, against William Bush for the Legacy Fighting middleweight title. In the fifth and final round, Craig won the fight via TKO. Craig was set to make his first title defense at Legacy Fighting 8 against Bellator and WEC veteran, Eric Schambari. However, Schambari weighed in past the middleweight limit and the fight became a three round non-title fight. Craig won the fight via unanimous decision.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Craig made his UFC debut on short notice as an injury replacement for Jared Hamman against Australian Kyle Noke on March 3, 2012, at UFC on FX 2. Despite losing the first round, Craig came back to dominate the second and third rounds, winning via unanimous decision. Craig defeated Rafael Natal on July 11, 2012, at UFC on Fuel TV: Munoz vs. Weidman. After being rocked and controlled for the majority of the second round, Craig landed a head kick to capture a comeback

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, ...

victory. In his third fight for the promotion, Craig faced

Ronny Markes Ronny Markes (born April 21, 1988) is a Brazilian mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight (MMA), Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2007, Markes has formerly competed for the Ultimate Fig ...

on January 19, 2013, at UFC on FX 7. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. It was the first loss of his professional career. Craig defeated former WEC Middleweight Champion Chris Leben via split decision on July 6, 2013, at UFC 162. Craig took on English fighter Luke Barnatt in his next outing on October 26, 2013, at

UFC Fight Night 30 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The large ...

. He lost the fight via submission in the second round. Despite the loss on his record, the fight also earned Craig his first ''Fight of the Night'' bonus award. Craig was expected to face

Chris Camozzi Christopher Allen Camozzi (born November 20, 1986) is an American professional Glory (kickboxing), Glory kickboxer, mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and bare-knuckle boxer. He currently competes for the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship ...

on April 11, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 39. However, the fight was cancelled on the day of the weigh-ins as Craig was ruled out with an illness. Craig faced

Cezar Ferreira Cezar Jesus Ferreira (born February 15, 1985), better known in his home country Brazil as Cezar Mutante, is a mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light heavyweight (MMA), light heavyweight division. A professional ...

on June 28, 2014, at UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Stephens. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Craig was expected to face Edgar Garcia in a welterweight bout on July 15, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 71. However, Garcia was forced from the bout with injury and replaced by promotional newcomer Lyman Good. Craig lost the fight via TKO in the second round and was subsequently released from the promotion following the loss.

Personal life

Craig works as the head MMA coach at 10th Planet Austin and Director of Partnership Development for UFC Vet Tim Kennedy.

Championships and accomplishments

*Legacy Fighting Championship **Legacy FC Middleweight Championship (One time) *

** Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Luke Barnatt

Mixed martial arts record

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San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

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San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–2 , Luke Barnatt , Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Munoz , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:12 ,

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 , Chris Leben , Decision (split) , UFC 162 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

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, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Rafael Natal , KO (head kick) , UFC on Fuel TV: Munoz vs. Weidman , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:52 ,

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Kyle Noke , Decision (unanimous) , UFC on FX: Alves vs. Kampmann , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Eric Schambari , Decision (unanimous) , Legacy FC 8 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , William Bush , TKO (punches) , Legacy FC 6 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 2:47 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Jon Kirk , Submission (triangle choke) , IXFA 5 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:04 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Josh Foster , Decision (unanimous) , IXFA 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Antuan Williams , Decision (unanimous) , USA MMA 12 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Kinder, Louisiana, United States ,

References

External links

* * * *
Instructor Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Craig, Andrew 1986 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Texas Middleweight mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Martial artists from Houston Moody College of Communication alumni