Jake Craig talks future in fighting after striking gold at Unified 49

Dec 20, 2022

EDMONTON – Jake Craig doesn’t have to look far for inspiration.

The fast-rising Little Sweatshop heavyweight prospect is training partners with former Unified MMA Canadian Heavyweight Champions Tanner Boser and Christian Larsen, as well as pillars of the Canadian MMA scene like Graham Park, KB Bhullar and others.

“They’re all just really good guys, and they’re leading me down the right path,” Craig says of his Little Sweatshop training partners and coaches.

Craig hopes to follow in the path of his well-known teammates, and so far he’s taking all the right steps. At Unified 49 on Friday at River Cree Resort & Casino in Enoch, AB, Craig improved to 4-0 in his amateur career with a fourth-round submission victory over the previously unbeaten Terell Jonasson. The match was for the inaugural Unified MMA Canadian Amateur Heavyweight Championship.

Craig plans on making the jump to the professional ranks under the Unified MMA banner. Someday fighting in the UFC, like his Unified 49 cornerman Boser, would be a dream come true. But the 30-year-old heavyweight has different goals.

“I really just enjoy the mental aspect of fighting, like pushing yourself to go to the gym when you feel like (expletive), going into that fourth round feeling like (expletive), questioning what’s inside of you, and growing from that – as a person and a competitor,” Craig says.

“I really don’t have any specific goals,” he adds. “I just want to give my absolute best effort and see where I end up.”

ABOUT UNIFIED MMA

Unified MMA is Canada’s leading mixed martial arts promotion, showcasing the country’s top-ranked fighters, LIVE on UFC Fight Pass. The organization has successfully promoted 49 events since it was founded in 2009, and has propelled several athletes to the UFC’s Octagon.