Paul Craig vs. Gadzhimurad Antigulov announced for July 25 UFC ‘Fight Island’ event
With the coronavirus pandemic causing the cancellation of their most recent fight bookings, Paul Craig and Gadzhimurad Antigulov will finally return to action this summer.
The UFC announced Thursday that Craig (12-4-1) and Antigulov (20-6) are set to meet in a light heavyweight bout on July 25 at a “Fight Island” show that takes place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
Known for his third-round comeback submissions, Craig is coming off of a 2019 campaign that saw him go 2-1-1. In his most recent outing, “Bearjew” fought former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua to a split draw. A bout with Ryan Spann scheduled for this past March was canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Antigulov has lost two straight fights by first-round knockout after earning back-to-back first-round submission victories to begin his UFC career. Since his most recent appearance last April, Antigulov has struggled to get a fight in the books. He withdrew from bouts against Ed Herman and Devin Clark in November 2019 and February 2020, respectively, and the coronavirus led to the cancellation of a June 13 Kazakhstan card (later moved to Las Vegas) and Antigulov missing out on a fight with Klidson Abreu.
The July 25 UFC event is scheduled to be headlined by a middleweight bout between former UFC champion Robert Whittaker and Darren Till.
See the updated card below (bout order to be determined):
Robert Whittaker vs. Darren Till
Mauricio Rua vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Alex Oliveira vs. Peter Sobotta
Fabricio Werdum vs. Alexander Gustafsson
Danny Roberts vs. Nicolas Dalby
Justin Tafa vs. Raphael Pessoa
Bethe Correia vs. Pannie Kianzad
Nathaniel Wood vs. Umar Nurmagomedov
Ramazan Emeev vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov
Francisco Trinaldo vs. Jai Herbert
Paul Craig vs. Gadzhimurad Antigulov