Paul Craig’s Ethnicity & Nationality: Is the UFC Star British?

After several ups and downs in the UFC, Paul Craig has established himself as a veteran in the UFC’s middleweight division. As of November 2024, Craig is yet to earn his way into the Top 15 of the 185lbs rankings. The ‘Bearjew’ prepares to face the unbeaten 28-year-old prospect Bo Nickal at UFC 309 in a thrilling clash.

Initially, Craig started his journey in the light heavyweight division before dropping down to middleweight. With a record of 17 victories and 8 defeats, ‘BearJew’ has earned prominence as a breaker of undefeated streaks and he will look to do the same against Nickal this Saturday. However, let us divert from his career records and take a look at Craig’s origin and background. So, without any further ado, let’s get started.

Where is Paul Craig from?

Born and brought up in Scotland, Paul Craig spent most of his life on the streets of Airdrie. ‘BearJaw’ is one of the best fighters in his country and is expecting to bring a UFC belt to Scotland. Craig’s coach took him from being a nobody in the realm of MMA to making him one of the best in the country, and later, in 2016, he joined the prestigious UFC to continue his MMA career.

As of now, there is no information about Craig’s parents as he likes to keep his life private, however, there was a rumor floating around his moniker ‘BearJew’, due to which the MMA community thought Craig was a jew. People started asking questions about the meaning of his nickname and the relevance behind it but Craig mentioned in a podcast that he does not like to give the meaning behind his nickname.

Long story short, Paul Craige is not Jewish. Well, now that we know about Craig’s personal stories. Let’s have a look at how the Scottish native started fighting.

How did Paul Craig start fighting?

Paul Craig had an amateur record of 8 victories and 0 losses, and this induced the UFC to bring him to the promotion. Under the UFC banner, ‘BearJew’ started his bouts in the light heavyweight division. Before transitioning to the middleweight division, Craig had some notable victories in the light heavyweight division, which also included the former light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill and current #1 205lbs contender Magomed Ankalaev.

Paul Craig’s fighting story is a bit peculiar, according to him he started fighting accidentally. “I was dragged to a Jits class by a friend five years ago and found I was pretty good at holding half-naked sweaty guys to the ground. From there I started boxing a year later and had my first fight about that time, winning with a triangle choke,” said Craig in a conversation with the UFC.

‘BearJew’ is 6-4-1 in his last 11 fights and his upcoming fight might decide his fate in the middleweight division since he’s got one win and two losses since debuting as a 185fer. Nonetheless, what is your take on Paul Craig’s upcoming fight? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.