Undefeated light heavyweight Paul Craig is itching to fight in front of his hometown crowd on Saturday night - and he has his eyes on next year's rumoured UFC card in Scotland.
The 26-year-old from Lanarkshire tops the bill at First Fighting Championship's next event, FFC Resurgence at Hamilton Townhouse this weekend.
Craig is 3-0 as a professional MMA fighter and with his prized 'zero' on the line, you might expect him to learn everything he can about his opponent to ward off any surprises. But not so says the man who is months away from becoming a dad for the second time.
Craig said: "I don't know much about Ryan Salamagnou apart from he has a pro 2-2 record and he's French. I don't tend to obsess over my opponents. I don't train to prevent any particular technique because the nature of MMA is that anything can happen at any time.
"I prefer to concentrate on my own game and to work on every aspect of my MMA. I've been training as hard as ever for this fight and my weight is on track so I'm feeling very good about it."
A win on Saturday will take Craig to 4-0, and with another fight lined up this year, he could end 2015 as a 5-0 professional. That is exactly the kind of record the UFC looks for when it snaps up local fighters to fill a card.
The world's biggest MMA promotion is thought to be eyeing up holding its first ever event in Scotland in 2015 - at least according to its president Dana White, although he has made similar noises in the past.
With Scots Robert Whiteford and Joanne Calderwood now established names in the UFC ranks, this time White's words carry more weight. And if the big show does come to town, Paul Craig wants a piece of the action.
He said: "If I can keep my undefeated record and put on some good performances this year, I'm hoping that if the UFC does come to Scotland that I might be given a chance on the undercard. That's an ambitious but achievable goal to set for myself."
With a baby on the way and his day job as a teacher keeping him busy, Craig has promised his partner this will be one of his last bouts of this year. He simply could not resist fighting on an FFC card - a promotion he counts as the best in Scotland.
"FFC treat the fighters brilliantly and the events are always very well run," he says. "You couldn't ask for better and that's why so many guys want to fight for FFC."
His undefeated tag is seen as a potential prize for any opponent and must come with added pressure. But Craig says his team mates at Scottish Hit Squad keep his feet firmly on the ground. He says: "It's great to be able to say you're undefeated. But you can ask anyone at the gym, I get beat regularly in there. My sparring partners put me through hell and that's why I'll never experience anything in the cage that will be a surprise to me."
The team mates he praises so highly include the self-styled 'Bad Guy' of Scottish MMA, Chris Bungard. Lightweight Bungard is also fighting on this weekend's FFC card, against Scott Richards, after an impressive win over Dinky Ninja Fight Team member Scott Mulgrew in July.
Craig said: "I'm going to come clean on this Bad Guy persona. That's not Bungard, he is actually the first guy in the gym and the last to leave and always has a smile on his face. He's one of the nicest guys in MMA, that's the truth."
With the UFC in his sights, does Craig still hold a desire to fight fellow Scot and long-time verbal sparring partner Rab 'Baloo' Truesdale? "Absolutely," he says. "I was thinking of changing my nickname to Baloo because it's not getting much use these days. There's a hole in the market as far as that name goes."
Also appearing on Saturday's FFC card is Griphouse girl Charlotte Park who takes on Northern Ireland's Sarah Louise Scott. Other highlights see Chi Chi Ngosa facing Andrew Wilkie and Dan Morgan fighting Danny McDonagh. A limited number of tickets will be available on the doors, which open at 6pm.
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