Paul Craig vs Andre Muniz: UFC Fight Night 224 Odds, Prediction
-
Edgar Chaput
In a middleweight match, the Scotsman Paul Craig and Brazilian Andre Muniz will duke it in front of London at UFC Fight Night 224 this weekend. One supposes the crowd will favour Craig, but Muniz is not to be overlooked.
Speaking of which, the MMA odds see the Brazilian as a -245 favourite in this contest, with Craig placed at +180.
Paul Craig UFC London Odds
Hailing from Airdrie, Scotland, the 35-year-old nicknamed the “Bearjew” looks to improve his 16-6-1 overall record. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt wearer is on a bit of a slide. His last victory dates back to three events ago at UFC Fight Night 204 in March of last year. It came against Nikita Krylov courtesy of a triangle choke in the initial round.
Since then, Paul Craig has suffered back-to-back defeats. The first was a year ago in July 2022 at UFC Fight Night 208. Volkan Oezdemir impressed the judges enough to earn a unanimous decision. Afterwards came a TKO loss at the hands of Johnny Walker in January of this year at UFC 283. As such, even though technically he’ll be at home (if one can say that of a Scot fighting in London), things don’t look great.
As for a comparison with his opposite number, Craig has a slight height advantage (six feet three inches to six feet one) and considerable weight one too (205 lbs to 186). Interestingly, the Brazilian’s reach is superior (78 inches to 76). Submitting opponents is the Scotsman’s preferred method of victory, doing so 81 per cent of the time, with 19 per cent coming via KO and TKO. Neither fighter lands too many significant strikes per 60 seconds (2.44 to 2.12). Craig does take more (2.88 to 1.74).
Andre Muniz UFC London Odds
The one they call “Sergipano” has had a slightly better career than this weekend’s opponent. He has partaken in more fights, won more, and lost fewer. 23-5 makes him one of the better fighters on the circuit. He also has a third-degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu to his name.
One of those five defeats came in his most recent contest, however. In February at UFC Fight Night 220, Brendan Allen got the better of him thanks to a rear-naked choke in the third round. Prior to that was a victory at UFC Fight Night 206 in April 2022 versus Uriah Hall. That was earned via unanimous decision. Further back was a successful bout in December 2021 against Eryk Anders at UFC 269.
The 33-year-old depends on favourable decisions for 62 per cent of his wins. Another 30 are thanks to submissions, with the remaining 8 per cent coming via KO or TKO. His fights last a little bit longer (8:53 to 7:43) but not so much that would be a factor. Muniz’s defence against significant strikes is a bit better than Craig’s (54 per cent to 47), which explains why he suffers a bit fewer per minute. The Brazilian grapples more, with a takedown overage of 2.95 every 15 minutes to Craig’s 1.81.