UFC Atlanta did not go as intended for Paul Craig.

The submission ace and 20-fight UFC veteran fought out his contract against Rodolfo Bellato, meaning his negotiating power was hugely dictated by this most recent result, particularly since he recently lost three in a row down at 185-pounds. Unfortunately, an illegal upkick from Craig sent Bellato flying — or perhaps diving? — across the Octagon, drawing an end to the bout via “No Contest” (watch here).

At age 37, Craig isn’t ready to call it quits just yet. However, his fighting future is uncertain, because he doesn’t have much interest in signing with any promotion outside of the UFC.

“This was the last fight in my contract so, I’ve fought my five fights for that last contract,” Craig explained on the ”On Paper with Anthony Smith” podcast (via MMA Junkie). “And it’s in the balance of like do UFC sign me? I’m coming off a few losses as a middleweight. I moved back to light heavyweight to re-energize myself, my career. I don’t believe I’m ready to retire from this sport. I believe there’s still a lot of learning that I’m doing, and it’s the training. If I’m training and doing the same stuff and getting beat up in training, and going into fights and doing the exact same stuff and getting beat up, then it’s time for me to walk away.

“But I do believe I’m getting better. When I look at how much my striking improved against Bo Nickal, look at how my standup has improved over the years, that’s where I’m working really hard. In jiu-jitsu as well, like I’m still learning. I’m still learning simple moves in jiu-jitsu which I’m able to add to my game, and as soon as that stops, then I’ll walk away from this sport. But, it’s not happening right now, and I would like to continue to fight for the UFC, but if they decide that it’s not for me then they kind of force your hand, and then it would be game over for me. I would just walk away from the sport.”

Craig certainly still has value for the promotion in testing up-and-comers, as he’s a notorious trap fight that has scored some big upsets. His ranked days would appear to be over, however, so it’s uncertain if UFC still wants to foot the bill of a veteran like Craig when they instead pick up new talent through Contenders Series.

Not that there’s a wealth of new 205-pounders on the come up …

If this is the end of Craig’s career, he far exceeded expectations. He’s the most recent man to defeat current champion Magomed Ankalaev, snapped the arm of former kingpin Jamahal Hill, and stopped an all-time great in Mauricio Rua. He’s never been a perfect fighter by any means, but he’s always dangerous!

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