Paul Craig looking to break into UFC middleweight top ten with Brendan Allen scalp
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00:00 [BLANK_AUDIO]
00:10 Hi there, normally we don't get to see this look until weigh-ins,
00:23 why are you gracing us with this today?
00:25 >> It's a part of the media, I've been given an opportunity to showcase my
00:29 war paint, talk a little bit more about it.
00:32 And just embrace being Paul Craig, which is pretty cool.
00:37 It does feel a little bit strange wearing it and there's no final face off.
00:44 I don't get to do the whole pageantry thing where I get to be in somebody's face.
00:48 So if there's any takers out there that want a shot of this, come and get some.
00:50 [LAUGH] >> Not me,
00:52 everyone's pointing at me, no thank you.
00:53 Have you run into your opponent yet here with the face done up?
00:58 >> I haven't seen him today.
01:00 I think we're pretty much coming to the end.
01:02 I've been here for about nine o'clock just doing bits and balls, but
01:06 you'll see it, you'll see it coming.
01:09 >> How long does it take to get that off at the end of the night?
01:12 >> When I do it, it takes less time, but
01:14 I imagine when a makeup artist does it, there's a little bit nicety in it.
01:19 So I imagine it's gonna take a lot more scrubbing to get off.
01:24 One of the first times I ever did it was done by a makeup artist and
01:27 it ended up I had a blue eye for the fight.
01:31 So if you watch back my first fight against Henrique De Silva,
01:35 you can see I've got this nice blue eye, it just makes it sparkle.
01:38 >> I bet that freaked your opponent out a little bit.
01:41 >> Well, that's part of it.
01:44 Scottish people rock this paint when they're ready to go to battle, or
01:48 ancient Scottish people.
01:50 So I'm carrying that tradition on when the Scots are ready to go to battle,
01:54 we rock it.
01:55 We've seen Chris Duncan rock it as well, so definitely starting a trend.
02:00 >> So can you talk to me a little bit about this fight week compared to
02:04 the last fight week?
02:05 That was your first one at middleweight.
02:06 How is it feeling now?
02:07 Do you feel like you've gotten into a groove yet?
02:10 >> Yeah, although it was my first time making middleweight, it was officially.
02:15 I had already made it prior to that, I'd made it twice,
02:19 just to make sure that the cut, we were able to function and
02:23 perform at our best ability.
02:25 Cuz the last thing you wanna be doing is spending all this time during fight camp,
02:30 making the cut, and then you can't perform.
02:33 So we've made it a few times.
02:35 We had the gold standard in London, and
02:37 that's the way we've been running this kind of thing.
02:39 So if we can hit all the same numbers, all the same milestones,
02:45 then we'll be able to make middleweight and perform at the best of our abilities.
02:48 Right now, we're banging on the money, we're setting a gold standard.
02:54 With regards to everything else, like speed, power,
02:57 all these attributes that help me be an athlete, they are through the roof at
03:02 the moment, everything is going so much better than it was in the previous camp.
03:08 And so it's a positive place to be as a fighter.
03:11 >> Do you wish maybe you had made that move sooner, or
03:14 do you feel like the timing was perfect?
03:17 >> I've thought about this a lot.
03:19 Being a 35-year-old man, I've seen some things, done some things,
03:24 I've got some experience, I've learned my lessons through doing certain things.
03:29 If I was a 25-year-old version of myself, I don't think I'd have the discipline or
03:34 the commitment or the drive and determination that I have now.
03:40 So I think it's came at the right time.
03:41 And I know it's like hindsight, how good it would be to be a middleweight as a young,
03:46 up and coming prospect, no, how good is it to be a middleweight as a 35-year-old?
03:51 That's more scarier than a 25-year-old Paul.
03:53 >> Can you talk to me about your opponent?
03:56 What do you think of the matchup?
03:57 >> I think it's a great matchup.
03:59 Very rarely do you get the UFC making bad matchups, or
04:02 you look at a card and go, he's losing or he's winning.
04:05 The UFC match make it so well, and
04:08 when it comes to the night, it's what makes the show so great.
04:12 This is one of these battles where a lot of people are saying it's gonna be
04:16 a grappling battle.
04:18 I don't believe that.
04:19 I believe this battle is gonna be very much a stand up battle.
04:23 Who's gonna control the distance, who's gonna control the octagon?
04:26 And then from that, who's gonna capitalize with these heavy shots,
04:30 imposing damage, imposing well.
04:33 And then from that, it'll be then ended on the ground.
04:36 So it'll be one on the feet, ended on the ground.
04:40 >> And I know that as a fighter, you're gonna get criticism from fans,
04:43 you're gonna get criticism from the media, and even other fighters.
04:47 But there was a recent interview with Moe Cano where he said that you had
04:50 terrible striking.
04:51 And I'm wondering what your thoughts are if you have a message for him, but
04:54 also how different it is to hear criticism from somebody who actually fights.
04:58 >> Yeah, when fighters or MD gives you any criticism,
05:01 you obviously want to show them that they're wrong.
05:04 But until you've had any of that smoke,
05:08 you can't just sit there regardless if a fighter.
05:11 If you catch these hands, you'll know how good my striking is.
05:16 And we've showed glimmers of hope in our striking, and
05:21 we don't need to be a good striker.
05:22 All we need to be is a good jujitsu practitioner, and
05:25 we've showcased that as a light heavyweight.
05:27 We've beaten in some way the top grapplers in the light heavyweight division.
05:31 And then we obviously beat Munoz, who's a very high level grappler.
05:35 So when it comes to showcasing my talent, I've already showcased that.
05:39 How many guys' arms has he broken?
05:41 >> And last question for me, there was a big light heavyweight fight last week, and
05:47 I know you're not in the division anymore, but
05:49 what were your thoughts on that title fight?
05:51 >> I always keep my eye on that division because that's where I cut my teeth.
05:54 And as I get older, maybe there's an opportunity for me to go back there.
06:00 When I'm looking at these guys and I'm seeing their groundwork,
06:03 because I'm very much a jujitsu practitioner, I see opportunities.
06:07 And I'm thinking, right, they're very dangerous at striking.
06:10 They're very strong, they're very powerful.
06:13 But their ability to just be the best is not there.
06:17 And it fills me with hope.
06:20 >> Thank you.
06:22 >> Hey, Paul.
06:23 16 fights in the UFC, first main event, how does that feel?
06:29 >> I had no idea it was 16 fights in the UFC.
06:31 So it's time flies.
06:34 I've had more fights in the UFC than I have outside the UFC.
06:38 I've definitely cut my teeth in the UFC, learned my craft, improved my craft,
06:43 became a much better version of a fighter, if you will.
06:46 And I'm only getting better through every single fight camp.
06:49 It's a great opportunity to be the first Scottish fighter to headline a card.
06:56 That was one of the goals I set way back when I first started doing MMA,
07:00 was I would love to headline a UFC.
07:03 I would love to have the UFC title.
07:05 And I think the other one was I wanted to be part of the computer game.
07:09 Now, within a couple of years, I've ticked all the boxes.
07:13 And then it's now about resetting new goals and then getting closer to that title.
07:18 I know it's close, I know I'm in the mix.
07:21 I've been given an opportunity.
07:23 But what you can't do is look past your opponent who's standing in front of you.
07:28 If you look past and be like, right, I'm gonna get this guy, this guy, and
07:31 then get the title, then you're gonna miss the moment that you're in at the moment.
07:35 So I need to be focused on Brendan Allen, who, as I said,
07:38 very good MMA practitioner, but it all comes down to Saturday night.
07:45 >> Is it even more special, like you said, you're older,
07:48 you're the second leg of your career, you're in a new division.
07:52 Does it just feel even more special that you're finally getting your first UFC now,
07:55 or your first UFC main event now?
07:58 >> It would have been great to do this as a 30 year old man and
08:01 cut my teeth a little bit earlier, but I appreciate things so much more.
08:06 The fact that I am 35, I reckon I've maybe got about six to
08:10 eight fights left in my career, good few years left in there.
08:14 So it's much better now that I'm a 35 year old man and
08:19 I can enjoy this legacy I'm leaving behind for Scotland.
08:26 >> Obviously, MMA math doesn't work, but
08:28 do you look at you finish Andre Muniz faster than Brendan did?
08:33 >> Is that, did I, I didn't know that.
08:36 I think he subbed him as well, didn't he?
08:38 Whereas I stopped him with, so the jujitsu guy didn't sub him, but
08:42 the striker or the wrestler subbed him.
08:45 MMA math is one of these things, if we had to do that,
08:50 then I would have been an elite heavyweight champ, which I'm not.
08:55 One of the things that comes down to is stylistically match up.
08:59 I've watched a lot of footage of Alan with his jujitsu, and
09:02 I see he makes mistakes, but he also does some very, very good things as well.
09:06 So it's one of these things where if he does this, I do that.
09:09 And it's like the scene from The Hangover where Alan's sitting at the table and
09:15 all the numbers are going through his head, that's what goes through your head.
09:17 That when you wake up at two o'clock in the morning, you're like, right,
09:20 if he does this, I'm gonna do this.
09:22 And you play out all these scenarios.
09:24 It's a really, really good way to, it's visualization,
09:28 it's part of the sports psychology that we use to improve and be prepared.
09:34 So you use it as a third person where I'm watching myself,
09:37 demonstrating what I'm gonna do, and then I'll do it from my vision as first person.
09:42 So it's a really, really good thing to use that MMA math and
09:45 be like, right, he's definitely gonna do this, I'm gonna do this.
09:48 >> Obviously, you're in a new division now, but
09:51 how does it feel to have a win over Magomed, Ankaliev, and Jamal Hill?
09:56 Magomed is, everyone believes he's probably the best light heavyweight,
10:00 not holding a title, and Jamal is a former champion.
10:02 Just like, you have wins over both of them.
10:04 How does that feel?
10:05 >> It feels good, and it's like I can probably dine out on that victory against
10:10 Ankalev the rest of my life.
10:12 People love that because we take a beating for
10:15 15 minutes in the last second, and that's all you need.
10:18 It doesn't matter if you win the race in the last second or the first second,
10:22 it's all about winning it.
10:24 And people are like, aye, but you didn't win, but if you look at my record,
10:29 I did win.
10:29 So these victories mean so much to me, and
10:32 especially because these guys went on and done so well.
10:35 When I think about the people who have fought in the top ten in the light
10:39 heavyweight division, like Krylov, like Osedemir, like Johnny Walker,
10:43 I've fought the who's who of top ten in that division.
10:46 Probably more than any other person in the light heavyweight division.
10:50 So now when I bring that experience down to the middleweight division,
10:54 like my experience of dealing with big, heavy strikers,
10:58 heavy grapplers is through the roof.
11:00 And I think that's what sets me apart from Munoz.
11:04 Like he's fought middleweights and he trains at a really good gym and
11:07 he's got all these skills.
11:09 But has he been in there with guys who are much bigger than him,
11:12 guys who are much more dangerous than him?
11:13 When you think about Jamal Hill, the champion,
11:16 who has some of the best striking in that division.
11:19 You think about Krylov,
11:21 who's got some of the most dangerous jujitsu in that division.
11:24 And then you think about Osedemir, who's no time Osedemir,
11:27 who's got that power, Johnny Walker with the power.
11:30 Like I've hung, I've maybe not hung with Johnny Walker, but
11:33 I've hung with these guys.
11:34 And it's experience, and I don't think he's got the experience that I've got.
11:40 >> Obviously you said you're not really looking past Brendan, but
11:42 is Bo Nichols still on the mind?
11:45 >> Well, it's one of these things, Bo Nichols, one of these guys,
11:47 where he's got a bit of love.
11:48 People are respecting his wrestling, and I can't take it away from his wrestling.
11:53 But there's other guys in front of me who I would love to fight.
11:57 There's, as I said, 35, eight fights.
12:02 I want to get as close to the title as I possibly can.
12:04 2024 is gonna be a year where I'm gonna get three fights.
12:10 And I'm gonna get close to that title rather than shooting back.
12:13 And I don't mean it to be disrespectful to Bo Nichols, but if you're not in the mix,
12:17 and you're not fighting regularly, and you're not in that top ten, and
12:20 you're not working towards getting to that belt,
12:24 then I don't really want to share the octagon with you.
12:27 I want to share the octagon with the guys who are in that top ten, top five.
12:30 Guys like Hamzat Chemayev, who is one of the best middleweights we've seen.
12:37 Skill-wise, he obviously put a pace on his last fight against Usman.
12:43 And he looks great, but I believe my skill set against these guys is different for
12:48 everybody else in the division.
12:49 That ability to pull a submission or that ability to lay heavy ground and
12:55 pound and win a fight is what makes me different from all the other middleweights.
12:59 >> I've always wanted to know this, during fight week, you're so calm,
13:03 you're so nice.
13:04 But when you get that face off, it's one of the most intense face offs in the UFC.
13:10 How do you get in that mindset just for that moment?
13:12 >> It comes down to the crowd, it comes down to what you're feeling and
13:16 with the emotions.
13:17 It's a very emotional game being a UFC fighter.
13:21 It's highs and highs and the lowest of lows.
13:23 There's the added ability of not having any calories,
13:27 there's the water manipulation, there's all these kind of things.
13:32 And you need a little bit of fire.
13:33 And I think it's great, I think it brings the best out in me and
13:36 it brings the best out in my opponent.
13:38 They normally do one or two things.
13:40 One is they allow me to impose my will and impose my frame.
13:44 Or two, they decide to come at me and that makes it so much better.
13:48 And that gives me that little bit more fire and that's like, yeah,
13:51 we're gonna get this on Saturday night.
13:53 And even when it comes to that Saturday night,
13:55 even that when Bruce Buffer calls my name and I'm walking to the octagon,
14:01 the obscenity of that, controlling it, imposing my will.
14:05 Same again, that's the stuff I love about this sport.
14:08 I love the victories, but
14:09 I love all these wee kind of moments that will last a lifetime with me.
14:13 >> And finally for me, is Braveheart the best war film ever made?
14:19 >> Braveheart the best war film ever made?
14:21 That's a toughie.
14:23 No, definitely not, it's Lord of the Rings.
14:24 Has to be.
14:27 >> Love it, love it, thank you.
14:28 >> I wanna ask you about one of your teammates and training partner, Stevie Ray.
14:32 He recently called it a career.
14:33 I mean, he said he's gonna stay around in the game coaching the kids.
14:36 You know how he's doing?
14:37 >> Yeah, he's doing well.
14:39 He obviously had fought in the PFL twice, a decorated UFC veteran as well.
14:46 One of the best Scottish fighters we've ever had.
14:50 But he's obviously taking up some wear and tear through his knees.
14:54 And it's probably the best thing for him to leave the sport as MMA.
14:58 But fighters never stop fighting.
15:02 They're always fighting for something, be it working with kids or
15:04 be it working for BJJ.
15:07 Like we've seen him, he's got an amazing victory over Paddy Pimlet,
15:11 with a flying heel hook.
15:14 I'm not sure if you've seen this, I'm sure it was on Polaris or
15:17 one of these high level grappling shows where Stevie Ray puts a pace on Paddy Pimlet.
15:22 And he's gonna do the same.
15:24 I think he's fighting the same night as me.
15:26 Still comes in, still got rounds with him.
15:27 He's now went from being in the 80s to being in the high 90s.
15:33 Because when fighters stop fighting and
15:36 have stopped with that focus of needing to make weight, needing to watch their calories,
15:41 they kinda just like to eat.
15:42 And that's what Stevie's been doing.
15:45 So he's been a really good training partner for me in this camp with regards to size and
15:49 a body and the ability to roll with Stevie, it's an honor.
15:54 >> That's great to hear.
15:55 And I saw you said that you ticked off a lot of your goals that you had when you
15:58 came into this game.
16:00 I'm assuming one of your next goals is to maybe possibly headline an event in Scotland
16:04 or do something out there with the UFC.
16:06 >> That's like the ultimate dream for me is Scotland.
16:09 I fought there.
16:10 I fought in Glasgow once, and that was UFC Glasgow.
16:15 And it resulted in me getting knocked out.
16:18 That was my second, sorry, my third fight in the UFC.
16:22 I was very green.
16:24 I had very little experience of fighting in an octagon in front of a crowd.
16:29 There was a lot of issues going into that fight camp.
16:32 Like I get knocked out, there's nothing you can say about that.
16:36 It's just one of these things that I was, I had no idea what the UFC was.
16:41 And round about after my second and third fight in the UFC,
16:44 I didn't think I was gonna be a UFC fighter.
16:46 I didn't think I was the caliber of a fighter that should be in the UFC.
16:52 And then after my final fight on that contract and getting the victory over Ankalaev,
16:57 it resulted in me then having a little bit more confidence.
17:00 And then each contract, each fight, my confidence is building, building, building.
17:05 To know, as I said, being an older guy in the division with experience and
17:09 the time to hone my craft, it's made such a difference.
17:15 But to go back to Glasgow and rectify that loss would be a dream come true.
17:19 And I'm hopeful that within the next couple of years, I'll be headlining that show.
17:24 And there'll be a poster with the blue background, with the salt tire,
17:28 with my face painted the way it is.
17:30 That's like my ultimate dream now is to hit that.
17:34 I would love to have the belt, but
17:37 that's gonna happen first before I get the opportunity to the belt.
17:40 >> Awesome, yeah, with the UFC traveling back, I hope it can happen.
17:43 >> Thank you so much.
17:45 >> Hey, Paul.
17:45 >> How you doing, man?
17:46 >> Yeah, good, thanks.
17:47 And you were saying earlier on the show that you're the first Scotsman to
17:52 headline a fight night here.
17:54 And with Tom Aspinall's recent championship win and
17:58 Leon Edwards being a champion, what kind of does that say about the strength of
18:02 UK MMA at the moment?
18:04 >> Yeah, UK MMA is well behind in the US.
18:08 The US have got this because most of the events are all USA based,
18:13 so they have reasonable times to watch it.
18:16 And I think that's one of the downfalls in UK MMA,
18:19 because we maybe get two or three cards a year that are a reasonable time,
18:23 be them in Europe or be them in Australia or Abu Dhabi, wherever they are.
18:28 But when you watch them, how they're meant to be watched in a crowd with fans
18:34 discussing what he should have done, what he could have done,
18:36 how you would have done it, that's how it's meant to be watched.
18:39 I was lucky enough on Saturday to see Tom Aspinall win the belt in a pub in
18:44 Las Vegas, surrounded by fight fans, and the place erupted when Tom won.
18:51 And it fills me with hope, and the fact that Tom's a champ,
18:57 Leon Edwards is a champ, we've got some cream of the crop
19:02 rising in Europe as well as the UK.
19:05 So I think there's opportunities for a huge card in the UK,
19:09 an arena tour, maybe like a stadium, get all these guys over,
19:14 numbered event, sales out, and it pushes the sport to the next level in the UK.
19:20 Cuz that's what we're needing.
19:23 The sport has grown through strength to strength in the UK, but
19:27 we're needing these big shows like the Leon Edwards London card,
19:31 like the Molly McCann, Paddy Pimlett, the after lockdown London card.
19:36 But they need to go to different places.
19:38 They need to go to Manchester, they need to go to Birmingham,
19:40 they need to explore the whole UK.
19:43 And I get the fact that the UK doesn't have the events like the US does.
19:50 But sometimes it's worth to take a hit in the pocket to push a brand and
19:54 make it massive in another area.
19:57 >> I was gonna say, cuz you fought at the O2 Arena quite a few times, and
20:01 it just seems like, we've heard from Dana White and I think Dave Shaw that the UFC,
20:06 they feel like the forte is with arena shows.
20:08 But we know they've done a stadium show in Australia.
20:11 >> Yep.
20:12 >> Surely it's only a matter of time before we get a stadium show,
20:16 like the Millennium Stadium, Old Trafford, or the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
20:20 Would you wanna kinda push for that as well?
20:22 Because we've got so many big stars over in Britain that could,
20:26 you could even have 15 matches and they'd all be household names.
20:30 >> Yeah, when I first started getting into MMA and watching the London cards or
20:34 the Manchester cards, we only had one or two people on these cards,
20:38 like Michael Bisping.
20:39 And the cards were not built with UK fighters.
20:42 But now when you look at post-lockdown, and you think about the UFC London cards,
20:48 they've been stacked with UK talent, and it's just pushing that brand.
20:53 So yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing what's gonna happen in the UK.
20:58 And I'm on the wave of this.
21:00 I'm one of the last guys that will be part of this.
21:03 Cuz the next generation of guys that are gonna come through,
21:06 it's gonna be a well-established UK scene.
21:09 >> Speaking of the next generation,
21:11 it seems like there might be a bit of an open goal for UK MMA.
21:15 Because in British boxing, the bigger fights and
21:19 bigger names are fighting in Saudi Arabia and not in the UK.
21:23 Anecdotally, do you think there's more Scottish kids, Welsh,
21:27 English kids turning to MMA rather than UK boxing?
21:31 Cuz UK boxing might not be delivering in the UK,
21:33 even though it might do in Saudi Arabia, not like UK MMA is.
21:38 >> If you think about, I grew up in the 90s, and
21:41 we had some of the greatest boxers of all time coming out then.
21:44 And I'm not saying the guys aren't great, but we had the best fighting the best.
21:48 Whereas now those guys who are not fighting,
21:51 who they should be fighting in their divisions,
21:55 they're maybe going about jumping, about catching all these different weight
21:57 class belts, because there's so many of them.
22:00 There's the, I'm not saying corruption, we're judging and all this kind of stuff.
22:05 But there's issues in boxing at the moment, and it's kinda fester in a way.
22:10 Whereas if I'm a young, up and coming guy, and I'm seeing this sport of MMA,
22:15 where there's so much more elements to this, I might not be the best striker.
22:22 But I could be a really good jujitsu practitioner,
22:24 I could have done judo.
22:25 There's all these different elements that are gonna make,
22:28 that makes the sport of MMA so much more appealing to the next generation.
22:32 Whereas boxing's kinda, I'm not saying it's dying, cuz it'll never die.
22:36 But it's went through being this massive sport in the UK, or
22:40 even the world, to now kinda taking a back seat to MMA.
22:45 Because MMA's putting on the best cards.
22:47 When you think about a boxing card, you've maybe only got about two or
22:50 three fights, where you're like, I'm really interested to see this fight.
22:53 When you think about MMA, from start to finish,
22:56 these cards are well matched, and it's the best fighting the best.
22:59 You want to see the number one guy fight the number two guy, and
23:01 that's what you're getting.
23:02 And you're getting that week in, week out.
23:04 You're not getting that every once every six months.
23:07 And then there's this new thing that's happening in the world of combat sports,
23:10 where you're getting two guys who can't even fight, fighting.
23:13 And that's ridiculous.
23:14 People are paying money to watch two amateur, they're not even amateur fighters,
23:21 two stars fight each other for the purposes of,
23:25 they believe it's entertainment.
23:28 And it's destroying boxing, when you think about the YouTube stars who are fighting
23:32 each other, or the celebrities that are fighting each other.
23:35 They're just killing boxing.
23:37 And it's just gonna push the brand of MMA, UFC, to the next level.
23:43 >> Well said, thanks, Paul.
23:44 >> You mentioned about how you wanna make a push towards a title.
23:49 You wanna push to one last one.
23:51 He's in the UFC ranking, he's ten, you're 13 right now.
23:54 Is just getting a win enough to sort of propel yourself above him, or
23:57 do you really need that definitive finish or
24:00 win to really get into that top ten?
24:02 >> Yeah, every time you fight, if you just go to the judges,
24:05 that's not entertainment.
24:06 That's sport first and foremost is about entertainment.
24:10 The fighting element is an add on.
24:12 You need to be entertaining.
24:13 You think about the guys who are jumping divisions.
24:16 You think about how Jamal Hill got his title shot.
24:18 He's entertaining on the camera, off the camera, regardless if he's fighting or
24:22 not, he's an entertaining guy.
24:23 And that's why he managed to get that jump.
24:26 And the same for when we think about Sugar Sean.
24:28 He wasn't naturally next in line for the title shot, but
24:32 because he's entertaining, he jumps the queue.
24:35 You think about Tom Aspinall jumping the queue.
24:38 All these guys who are entertaining and putting on performances get an opportunity.
24:43 So it has to be a performance.
24:45 Going five rounds on Saturday night doesn't cut that to automatically get
24:50 yourself into the top ten.
24:52 Putting on a performance, getting a slick submission,
24:55 getting some heavy ground and pound, getting a knockout.
24:59 That's what gets you in that mix.
25:02 It's not about the victory.
25:04 It's about the element of how you get the victory.
25:07 >> Last one, me, silly.
25:08 Like he said, we've seen you for 16 fights in here.
25:11 It's crazy cuz when we first saw you,
25:13 I don't think any of us could understand a word you were saying.
25:15 And now we hear you and we have no problem hearing you at all.
25:18 So do we ruin your accent or
25:21 is your accent just sort of colonized to America a little bit more so?
25:25 >> I think it's a bit of both.
25:26 I think one of the things I had to do was slow my accent right the way down.
25:30 My accent, I still believe, is relatively the same.
25:33 But I've just slowed it down so he can actually pinpoint the word.
25:36 And it's like, right, I get it.
25:37 But then see when I speak to my Scottish friends, I'm gonna speak to this and
25:40 they're like, I'll wait up to the day I'm gonna go to.
25:42 They don't understand it.
25:43 And I'm like, huh?
25:44 But no, I'm definitely becoming more, it's only taken me 16 fights.
25:49 I've told that story before, but when I fought in South Parlo,
25:54 and they were doing the in-ring interview, and they were like, right,
25:57 if Paul wins, we're gonna get our translator.
26:01 And they're like, sorry, what?
26:03 And I said, I was like, no.
26:05 And they said, well, they won't understand you.
26:07 I went, you're not translating from Scottish to English.
26:10 I'm gonna say, I had a really good experience.
26:13 This guy's gonna be like, he had a really good experience.
26:15 I'm like, there's no hope in hell that I'm allowing you to give me a translator for
26:21 this, this isn't happening.
26:22 But no, it's been some journey when you say 16 fights.
26:26 And I think somebody tweeted the other day saying,
26:28 there's only been 400 people have been the main event.
26:33 So 400 people, and I'm one of 400.
26:35 So these are all the things that I love about this sport.
26:39 It's about being the first to do something, or having the UFC game,
26:44 or being one of the panini cards, or headlining, and
26:48 doing all these kind of things for the first, I love.
26:51 And representing Scotland, the UK scene is obviously getting bigger,
26:56 but the Scottish scene, I want to try and push that.
26:59 And I want to be the guy that's the MMA fighter for Scotland.
27:03 >> It's funny you mentioned the translator.
27:04 I don't know if you remember this story.
27:06 Once after your first fight, I found you in the airport and asked you-
27:08 >> Yeah, I do remember it.
27:09 >> I played the video and I said, can you tell us what you were saying?
27:11 >> I do remember it, you came up to me and you were asking what it was I said.
27:16 And I was assessing you like you still didn't know what I was saying.
27:21 So it's funny, but I have definitely slowing it down.
27:25 I remember looking back at one of my interviews and
27:27 I was talking about John Jones.
27:28 And I've obviously got a little bit of elation for the win.
27:33 There's all this pressure being the first time you fight in the UFC and
27:37 I'm just rabbiting on.
27:39 And I can just see people shaking their head at me like, no,
27:42 no idea what's going on here.
27:43 [LAUGH] >> Can you teach us some slang?
27:47 >> Some slang?
27:48 The one that all the Scottish guys use is aye.
27:51 We use aye, so aye is yes.
27:55 So like, are you gonna tonight?
27:58 Aye.
27:59 >> Well, I knew that.
28:00 I watch Outlander, come on.
28:01 >> Well, I've never seen Outlander.
28:03 >> What?
28:03 >> I've never seen it.
28:04 >> You have to go to your hotel and watch Outlander.
28:06 >> I can't watch it.
28:07 I think I'll be doing much better things when I go to my hotel than watching
28:10 Outlander.
28:11 [LAUGH] That sounded dirty, didn't it?
28:14 [LAUGH] You're mind's in the gutter.
28:17 >> If you've got a lady friend with you, she'll like Outlander and
28:19 that will help for other things in the hotel area.
28:21 >> Does it?
28:22 Right, right. So I need to get a lady friend and
28:24 I need to get some Outlander on the go.
28:25 I got it.
28:27 >> Can you do an American accent?
28:31 >> I can do my, I've got a few accents I can do.
28:36 And every time I do it, I can see people cringing.
28:39 >> [LAUGH] >> So one of my favorites is Arnold
28:42 Schwarzenegger.
28:43 Like, you got to get to the chapel, you must drink the monster.
28:48 You know what I mean?
28:50 And the other one I can do is, well, I think I can do them.
28:54 I've actually never listened to myself and thought, that sounds terrible.
28:58 The other one is Christopher Walken.
29:00 You gotta, it's been up my ass for two years.
29:04 You know this, the monster, you know?
29:07 Sometimes you get it right up in there and it's good, you know?
29:11 >> [LAUGH] >> [APPLAUSE]
29:17 >> When it's inevitably cut and
29:18 your face will be painted.
29:19 >> And I'm like, and then somebody's like, hey, it's up my ass for two years.
29:23 >> [LAUGH]
29:24 >> And I think that's pretty much all
29:26 my accents I can do.
29:27 >> Can you do one of Dana White?
29:30 >> I don't know, but so people always ask me, they're always like, Paul,
29:33 what is Dana White like?
29:34 And I'm like, I've only ever spoke to Dana White like a handful of times.
29:38 But he reminds me of Tony Soprano.
29:40 He's like, when I see him, I'm like, that's Tony, that's the boss.
29:47 But I could do, I probably could never do a Dana White, and
29:52 I'm probably gonna walk off here, and if I did an accent, I'd get harkened.
29:56 So no accent at Dana White.
29:57 But cheers for the team, guys.
30:01 >> That's good, thank you.
30:04 >> You can go. >> I just wanted to say,
30:05 you mentioned the Panini card, the main event, all that good stuff.
30:07 I think you're the first guy to have the War Paint at a media day.
30:10 That might be a first, too.
30:11 >> That's what they were telling me.
30:12 They've never ever done that before.
30:14 So this is the first time that somebody's come up here and done it.
30:18 And I did all the pictures.
30:19 So all the next lot of media stuff's gonna be in the War Paint,
30:22 which is, I feel privileged.
30:26 I feel honored to be the first to do that.
30:29 And there has obviously been guys like Kamara Usman paints his face,
30:33 Poltan paints his face.
30:35 And then we obviously had Kuti Bala, Kuti Laba, who paints his whole body green.
30:39 He's like, what, you're painting your face?
30:40 Aye, I'm going body.
30:41 And I don't think you can talk back.
30:43 >> Aye.
30:44 >> Aye, I like it.
30:45 Guys, have a lovely day, man.
30:46 I'll see you all soon.
30:47 [BLANK_AUDIO]