Nikita Krylov vs. Paul Craig Set for UFC London on March 19

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Two action Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweights won’t disappoint when they are locked in the cage in March.

In a past episode of Michael Bisping’s podcast “Believe You Me” on Jan. 14, Paul Craig (15-4-1) hinted that his next opponent would be Nikita Krylov (26-8). On Friday, the promotion revealed that the fight had been made official, with the two throwing down at UFC Fight Night 204 inside London's O2 Arena on March 19. In their combined 55-fight careers, Krylov and Craig have only gone the distance four times.

Krylov has alternated wins and losses in his last six, with an inconsistent return to the UFC in his last five outings that has seen him win against Ovince St. Preux and Johnny Walker. Those victories are interspersed by setbacks to Jan Blachowicz, Glover Teixeira and Magomed Ankalaev, with the latter coming in February 2021. The man formerly known as “Al Capone” left the promotion of his own accord in 2016, choosing to go back to his home country of the Ukraine and compete there and Russia to rack up four wins before returning to the Octagon. “The Miner” posts a career finish rate of 96% as a pro.

Not to be outdone by his opponent, “Bearjew” Craig celebrates a 100% stoppage rate in a career that began in 2013. Craig has not suffered a defeat since getting knocked out by Alonzo Menifield in 2019, with four wins and a draw on his way up the rankings. While he fought to that draw with Mauricio Rua in 2019, he rematched “Shogun” in 2020 and forced him to tap to strikes. The Scottish fighter last competed in June 2021, where he notched an unusual win over Jamahal Hill after dislocating Hill’s arm in an armbar, only to have to finish the fight with strikes due to referee Al Guinee’s nonintervention.

Krylov and Craig will come to blows on a stacked card in the promotion’s first trip to London since UFC Fight Night 147 in 2019. The O2 Arena will play host to UFC Fight Night 204, which draws Alexander Volkov vs. Tom Aspinall as its heavyweight main event. Other key tilts on the card include a featherweight scrap between Dan Hooker and Arnold Allen, as well as a bantamweight battle pitting Jack Shore against Timur Valiev.