The only man to defeat Magomed Ankalaev opens up on the eating disorder he developed after moving from light heavyweight to middleweight 

Magomed Ankalaev, the current king of the UFC light heavyweight division, holds an MMA record of 21-1-1 (1 No Contest). The Russian fighter has looked largely unbeatable in his career, and despite him having risen to the pinnacle of the sport by becoming a UFC champion, his debut in the octagon could not have been worse.

Ankalaev faced Paul Craig at UFC Fight Night 127 in 2018, where he dominated almost every moment of their 15-minute clash until Craig snapped on a triangle submission in the dying seconds of Round 3. With one second left on the clock, the then-debutant tapped and the fight was stopped.

The Russian has found major success since, not losing a bout, whilst 'Bearjew' has struggled to maintain his winning streak moreso. Craig moved to middleweight in 2023, winning his divisional debut before slumping to three straight defeats.

The Scotsman has now returned to light heavyweight and will face Rodolfo Bellato in May. Craig was recently interviewed by talkSPORT MMA, where he opened up on developing an eating disorder after moving down to 185 pounds. He said:

"I'd developed a bad eating disorder as well, moving down to middleweight. So it seems a much better fit for me at light heavyweight."

When asked about the eating disorder, Craig said:

"I'm in a weight-based sport, so I have to watch calorie consumption. I also have to go out and parade how I look, so you end up with also having not only a weight disorder, or an eating disorder, but an [body image disorder]... The last thing I want to do is look out of shape. All these kind of negative things play on you as a fighter."

Check out Magomed Ankalaev's former opponent discuss the eating disorder below (4:40):

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Joe Rogan heaps praise on Paul Craig's submission win over Magomed Ankalaev

Paul Craig's Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills are some of the best across the entire UFC roster. The Scottish fighter holds submission wins over former light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill and current champion Magomed Ankalaev.

During a recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience, the podcast host revisited Craig's win over Ankalaev in 2018, a remarkable last-second submission win. He said:

"Paul Craig has the nastiest f*cking triangle. It's so sneaky and so quick and you don't expect it. He's so high level off his back and he caught [Ankalaev], I think it was one second to go in the third round [in] a fight that he was losing."

Check out Joe Rogan discuss Paul Craig beating Magomed Ankalaev below (1:10):