UFC 263: Paul Craig dislocates Jamahal Hill’s arm, says ‘it was like a wet fish dancing all over my body’
- Scotland’s ‘Bearjew’ hands American his first defeat with first-round TKO in Arizona main card opener
- ‘That was one hell of a tight arm bar … for him not to tap, what are you Yanks made of? I felt it go,’ Craig says
Craig Paul secured a first-round TKO victory over Jamahal Hill in the UFC 263 main card opener after dislocating the American’s arm in Glendale, Arizona.
Scotland’s “Bearjew” quickly got things down to the ground in their light heavyweight contest, pulling guard right away at the Gila River Arena on Saturday night. He then switched from the right arm submission attempt to the left arm, spinning “Sweat Dreams” over.
Hill’s left arm was clearly compromised and was dangling around, but he showed incredible grit to try and keep fighting, punching Craig from the top with his other arm.
Craig twisted the limb several different ways and looked to the referee, who should have stopped things earlier, before opting to just land elbows from the bottom until it was finally called off at the 1:59 mark.
“It’s tap, nap or snap and tonight it happened to snap,” Craig (15-4-1) told Joe Rogan in his post-fight interview. “That’s one hell of an opponent there, he took these shots after his arm was broke, that’s tough.”
It looked like Hill (8-1, one no contest) attempted to tap but his arm was flopping up and down because he had no control of it. Hill’s coach later confirmed to the fighter’s manager Brian Butler-Au that the arm was dislocated, not broken.