Tune into the latest edition of UFC Journey, which featured Brendan Allen and Paul Craig. ✓ For more UFC, sign up for ESPN+ …
[Music] every single time I step in an octagon I want the victory it’s like a drug and you’re chasing that next one but there’s a guy standing in front of me Brandon Allen who is a well-rounded fighter I’m excited to Showcase what the old bull can do to the young buck if everyone has their own Journeys and their own paths I have all the assets it takes to be a star there’s levels to this and I’m ready for the next [Music] level good job you do great some here yeah you did great bro I’m proud of you don’t do do what I think you’re about to do don’t you [ __ ] do it we had many a egg fight out here inside the U if you’re not evolving and you’re not getting better you’re going to be out just as fast as you got there wasting as long as I’m the best me then uh the outcome sh should hopefully come my way the fresh eggs man fresh eggs for breakfast all different colors it’s even better if you just color shapes and sizes you’re everyone everyone you know what whoever eats these eggs in fight Camp they always win we got to take some to Vegas on the flight see if we can get some eggs there I’m sure you could I’m bringing some home to Louisiana we’ll put he’s insane you hear me you don’t let your Yol grny do you want this big egg growing up moving around was normal for me my dad was in the military we moved back and forth between North Carolina and South Carolina then we moved back to Louisiana where I live now but damn bro you’re slaughtering them things BR you might as well just make them into scrambled eggs bro when most people are away from their family it’s every day 9 to 5 I’m going back to sleep for me it’s 6: to 8 weeks you should just put them Bagels right in there it sucks being gone but uh this is the route to give them the best life possible it’s a redneck toew red NE stew I said that’s what redneck said this is a redneck stew might as well [Music] be personal and business don’t go together but for some reason me and Tuco do go together he’s a lot like my older brother I basically got two older brothers I started staying with him and his family and now they are my second family they what huh not really I love his family just as much as I love mine and I’d do anything for his just as he would for me he’s my head coach my training partner my main training partner one of my best friends all rolled into one actually ain’t that bad considering considering our circumstances the journeys that they been up to get to the [Music] play live wrestling fighting just produces a different kind of comaraderie when you’re training with guys day in day out you see them more than you see your own family I’m there like every day in the camp there’s no one that sees him more than me no one that trains with him more than me I’ve done the most rounds of him I’ve watched him I’ve been in the corner I get the front row seat to his fights I tell people how good he really is cuz I believe that I know his full potential and we haven’t even seen that yet stay strong late I can do it all I can wrestle I can do Jiu-Jitsu I can strike I can take it just as good as I can give it I like the rawness and the competitiveness of fighting and what that brings good fight good fight I’m pretty good athletically at anything that I’ve tried for the most part this just happens to be what I’m the best at fromen he tapped Brendan Allen goes all in for the first round stoppage win and this is not where you want to be with Brendan Allen you will not find a more confident fighter than Brendan Allen who believes that he is just an eventual Championship contender in this weight class this is an oncoming force in this 185lb division oh and a big right hand Silva goes down five in a row for brenon Allen there is no denying him now nice I always say he doesn’t have a [ __ ] bone in his body he’s just a dog in his bones tapping into where he comes from I just believe he’s built different he’s got that southern hillbilly strength I’ll call it nice he’s a monster in the gym monster in the fight hands up be quick yeah that’s it be quick he hasn’t even got to that level where he has it his championship mindset yet but he’s starting to tap into it now with his mentality brenan’s fighting Paul Craig on November 18th Craig has wins over some high-profile guys but I don’t feel like there’s anywhere that’s safe for him he’s going to need a miracle if there’s no Miracles Brendan beats him handedly every fight’s your biggest fight to date but I would obviously say this one’s probably the biggest fight it’s a main event hopefully there’ll be a lot of eyes no matter what I’m expecting the best Paul Craig anyone’s everever seen and I’m going to try to give him the best Brendan Allen that anyone’s ever seen when I show up and I show out and I’m Brendan Allen I’m a totally different guy I’m going to show just that on fight night when I do it’s just one step closer to the Belt you got one more minute my first house number 27 my lucky number stayed there my whole life have to walk up this hill every single day rain shine snow my parents were tough on me like especially my mom my mom is one of the toughest people I know um she uh rolled with an iron fist Scottish people are tough we come for a nation of people who have been oppressed for years but we’ never ever backed down is that mentality they getting knocked down a thousand times and getting back up a thousand times that’s what it is to be Scottish Scotland is deep in my heart and my bones like I I love the place [Music] there’s something about waking up in Scotland and seeing nothing but green Scotland’s a very powerful place there’s like an energy in the area it’s been a long tough Journey there’s been ups there’s been downs but my stock is through the roof at this point having an opportunity to fight in headling Vegas it’s amazing prior to being an MMA fighter I didn’t know what I wanted to do as a job I turned 18 and a half and I was gifted with a child I was a young dad I still didn’t know what I wanted to do careerwise but I knew I definitely didn’t want to be a dead be dad I wanted to be the best dad I could be I’ve had so many different jobs and then when I found MMA I knew that’s what I wanted to do I think I was about 23 one of my friends invited me to this Jiu-Jitsu class and I remember getting in and think I don’t know if this is f me but I was able to learn the move and put it into practice right away I Was Bitten with a bug for just being able to impose my will on people I all I wanted to do was learn the next move what’s the next sequence what happens if the guy does this how am I able to get out of this and then from that I then started learning more and more and more and then I started competing as a jiu-jitsu fighter um finding Victory realized that was what I wanted in life I want to be a fater I want to be an MMA fater Scotland’s Paul Craig making his UFC [Applause] debut it is all over Paul Craig my submission oh big KNE that and a big right hand ases he do it by Knockouts there are big shots this could be it he’s got the Hop he’s got the shot man and there’s the is wow Paul Craig amazing Scotland stand up that man is fired up he’s got the arm oh look at that he’s got it he’s got it that’s a wrap you’ve got to love the fighting Spirit of Paul Craig oh my God no way wow oh my word he just keeps on doing it reset use the hand now it’s all about getting ready for Brandon Allen he’s a higher ranked opponent me in a victory over Allen will’ll cement myself in that top 10 and we’ll subit myself of being a tit Contender so it’s a big he to claim Brandon Allen is an established middleweight uh I’m the new guy coming down for like heavyweight I’ve got nothing but respect for him steps into the oct with me but this is just my time it should be an exciting fight both guys are looking to finish it’s a competitive fight in just about every area Brandon Allen solid guys 22 and five he’s been in the UFC a long time he’s a formid opponent but Paul’s pushing for top 10 just leveling up his his whole [Music] game Brandon Allen is a well-rounded mixed martial artist he has a very slick Jiu-Jitsu style his striking is effective his does he have the 6′ 4 frame that I’ve got the will the power the ambition he might on paper be more effective at grappling than me he might be on paper more effective than striking but when it comes to fighting I’m the dog in the fight and I’m going to have to take it to him Dam Mark you’re looking real snazzy today just for you wow only the best well how come last time I come you w this snazzy 98% of the time I’m in just this shirt shorts flipflops or tennis shoes when it’s time to dress nice on fight nights I will my suit guy know is not to make it too tight on me I’m not that guy I like it a little loose I like things a little baggy almost that’s just me I’m not going to be something I’m not and then what about the inside um you got pictures you want to do pictures no we want to do pictures but just we wanted to put we wanted to embroid the date of the fight done you know what I mean the date yeah uh main event and then put like team do you want to put the initials like T and B that’s Tom Brady or to just put Team all in can I put Tom Brady in there pictures of Tom BCT the picture the full [Music] CR you did a what theary colors of the primary colors wow my girl look ATZ you looking so cute and I got crayons of that what those are my crayons my kids brenley Allen and Emmy Allen I hope one day they understand that I’m gone a lot but it’s for them and their future and my future and one day I won’t be going anymore Hey Bren do you like this one yeah I’m big into pictures and of my kids and I like the to store those memories I guess I get that from my mom for this suit it’s just my girls and my brother and then there’s my oldest first like real school pictures so it’s cool to have them in a suit it’s almost like they’re there with me kind of and then there’s my my brother my niece and then both my my girls for last year my my oldest daughter’s birthday James Allen Jr is my brother my brother loved to test the limits and see just how far and how much you could get away with my brother probably has more demons than any person can understand other than a person in his position or worse so um yeah it sucks but it’s life [Music] at the time I was a senior in high school we were at my dad’s friend’s house who had kids also our age we were over there just hanging out the parents had been gone and they asked us the house at the house we were playing games and the loser of the games had to do whatever the Dare was I lost first my brother lost second and the Dare was to jump in the pool naked my brother’s the life of the party he don’t care he stripped down boom was gone he Dove and I Cannon bought I’ve reached right where the pool drops off I remember looking across as he Dove he ended up waiting over to the left side of the pool it just uh I don’t know it wasn’t right so I dove in I grabbed him pulled him to the side of the pool I gave him CPR and he started breathing as he started breathing there was a real bad gurgle in his lungs and I ran back inside to call 9911 my parents ended up meeting us at the hospital my brother woke up for a split second and they asked him if he could feel his feet and he said no he broke his neck C4 five and six and C5 punctured his spinal cord so my brother don’t feel from the chest [Music] down life was just real hectic especially at the time his daughter was real little I used to help with my niece all the time when it was happening but now I’m a dad myself so I’m not as round as much as I’d like I used to all the time feel like it should have been me over him I don’t know but it didn’t work out that way so that’s kind of what I keep it didn’t work out that way is what it is it all happened for a reason I may not always know what that is I think but that’s like everyone in life you don’t know what your path is you don’t know exactly what’s around every corner but it just happens so you just got to roll with it there fighting at home in Louisiana is definitely my goal fight in front of my family [Music] my brother supports me on everything watches all my fights go my brother can’t travel there we go Louisiana is the only way my brother comes to a fight again there better that’s why I pushed so hard for it to happen there we go as long as I’m winning they can’t deny me so that’s what I keep doing got it bro now I’m here and I hope to just keep pressing on until got a scene next to my name instead of a number you know what the best part about golf is is the 19th hole and you get to go in the clubhouse and have a couple of beers with the guys obviously in fight Camp so that doesn’t happen so golf at this Point’s born golf relatively new sport for me it’s a nice walk burns calories but also as an athlete you’re always looking to unwi how are in the bunker I go 100 miles an hour as an MMA fighter I train three times a day every single day I have to live fighting every single day in my life but there’s times where you just can’t get away for what your job is any time I go anywhere people ask when’s your next fight what about this fight what about cor McGregor eh so when I go to the golf course I don’t want to be Paul Craig the MMA fair I want to be Paul Craig that guy that can strike the ball properly that’s the guy I want to be in the golf course it’s just good to clear the head and you don’t have to think about anything other than hitting that ball I don’t have to deal with MMA I don’t have to deal with training it’s a nice leisurely walk the weather’s nice like it is today it’s even better it’s a place for me just to chill think over some stuff iron out some creases in life ah he’s overshot it right in there boys oh right in the hole yes when I had this opportunity to move to middleweight this is where I done the vast majority of thinking about it like can I be a middleweight there’s a lot of time to just think about you and your thoughts and that’s why I do [Music] it with the shots long with the shots move on the map move James D is my coach my mentor the guy who tells me what I don’t want to hear tells me what I need to do he’s the guy that gave me the new Lisa life in the world MMA um a lot in my career because he is the guy who take me took me to the next level so if I’m throwing the kick here we teach this in two parts I have a step here and then I swing I step boom then I bring my back leg a make sure my shoulder comes through over the top of the H being a mixed martial art is it’s a crazy Journey there came a point in my career where Paul Craig stop was lower than a snake’s belly and everybody was calling me out for being like the worst MMA fighter ever it was horrible I had no way dealing with this emotion of losing I felt like an imposter and my coach at the time was not doing what I was needing them to do some something was going to have to give you bringing them back fast bring them back quick James Duan was a high level European fighter himself he’s taking people from being amateur fighters to be world champion MMA fighters he’s the best coach in Scotland and it took me nearly 10 years to realize that he was on my doorstep and that he has the ability to enhance me as a fighter hands up he moved over to the gym October 2022 I think he was maybe feeling stagnant so we stripped his striking right back down the basic stuff working on his straight line shots he jabing cuz he was so good at J so the Striking May lacked a we bit before so we made a conscious effort to really try to bring his striking on it was a 8 weeks before joining Walker in Brazil so it wasn’t a lot of time I thought Johnny Walker will be a really good fight I join a new gym started working me a new coach started working with a new team new training Partners I’ve get three months for these guys I’m going to get better but takes time when you implement new things oh Big R for Walker and another one Craig goes down oh Craig in a world of trouble I take some heavy shots my MSE get spreaded over my face and got flatlined in one round I look back at the fight and I think Paul Craig and Johnny Walker are the same weight class but in the fight I felt like he was so much bigger than me it was always in the back of your mind cuz we W never the biggest we were the scrawny guy in the like heavyweight Division and I felt every extra pound of his power when he hit me being a fighter it’s like a puzzle you’re fitting a little piece together only over the last 6 months to a year has the puzzle started to actually start taking shape and looking what it’s meant to look like and it’s through all the people round about you stay in the right direction and saying Paul try this one of the most popular fighters in the UK Paul beu Craig this is his middleweight debut my previous fight was against Andre Muno and we had to answer a lot of questions moving from light heavyweight down to middleweight can you be a top 10 fighter can you be a world champion can you be the guy that you really want to be oh it just goes my way everything just seems to flow shots are crisp as a mdal weight when we slim down and we take away that body fat and that extra muscle mass we’re a def Beast look at this from Paul Craig big elbows heavy attack are giving a shelling to Andre munise here that’s it wow Paul C in the new division gets a big win in London James D’s game plan was exactly what we needed and it was the confidence that he gave me resulting in me getting my first win as a middleweight rectifying that loss in R de Janeiro and starting a new point and Mya Paul Craig the middleweight this fight is a turning point for me if I can beat Brandon Allen in the headlining spot at Vegas There’s an opportunity for me to go into the top five I want to use my experience I want to use all the years of toiling against the Young Buck in Allen but the longterm goal has to be the belt I believe I am a title Contender I believe there’s no one who can stand in front of me fighting to try and get that gold I’m fighting for a legacy I’m fighting to get off that plane in Glasgow with a belt and I’ll take all these losses just to feel what it’s like to be the champion and that’s what I’m chasing right now to be the best version of me that I can ever be in life as long as I’m me and I show up to fight I could care less about the opponent it’s not going to go the way he thinks eventually everyone else will catch on but I’m 100% Going to outclass him man I’m going to put them away this journey for me is not about finances I don’t live a very lavish lifestyle don’t drive fancy cars don’t have a fancy house what I want is I want Legacy I want people to remember me I want glory for my family for my name for the Craigs for am steps in an octagon and feels like you don’t fit in that’s what I want