UFC light heavyweight Rodolfo Bellato addressed the controversy surrounding his ‘no-contest’ result at UFC Atlanta.
Despite his matchup with Paul Craig resulting in a ‘no contest’ at UFC Atlanta, UFC light heavyweight Rodolfo Bellato continues to be one of the biggest stories from Saturday’s card.
The light heavyweight matchup between Craig and Bellato came to an anticlimactic end to wrap up the UFC Atlanta prelims. As Bellato appeared on the verge of finishing Craig from top-mount, Craig threw an illegal up-kick that landed flush to Bellato’s head, before Bellato immediately protested the infraction to the nearby referee.
Bellato then lay flat on his back and appeared badly dazed by the strike, eventually attempting to grapple the official before Octagonside doctors attended to him. The fight was ruled a ‘no contest’ in one of the strangest ends to a fight in recent UFC history.
Rodolfo Bellato claims he ‘doesn’t remember anything’ immediately after illegal up-kick at UFC Atlanta
After the fight, many including Justin Gaethje and Anthony Smith accused Bellato of faking being knocked out by Craig’s up-kick. None of the UFC matchmakers were made available for comment after the bizarre end to Bellato vs. Craig.
Amid accusations of ‘flopping’, Bellato broke his social media silence following UFC Atlanta.
In a recent Instagram post, Bellato addressed skeptics after the controversial end to his fight at UFC Atlanta.
“God knows about all things! To everyone cheering for me, I’m in good health and will be back soon. Thank you so much!” Bellato began.
“And I saw some things on the internet, saying I was an actor there and stuff.. the moment I was on the ground, I didn’t expect to get kicked in the face (illegally).. it was a strong kick, when I looked at the judge to complain, my whole body began to tingle and my vision disappeared.. after that I dont remember anything.
“Anyone who’s known me the longest knows I would NEVER do this, I’ve never run from war. I hit 2x in less than 30 days, 2 trips in a row. Why would I fake something after all I been through and on top of that winning the first round?
“I thank all the real ones for the positive messages. God is in charge.”
Bellato and Craig were supposed to square off at UFC Vegas 106 earlier this year, before Bellato was forced out of the fight on hours’ notice due to a ‘herpes’ diagnosis. The matchup was later rescheduled for UFC Atlanta.
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Paul Craig responded to claims Rodolfo Bellato ‘flopped’ at UFC Atlanta
Despite several prominent UFC stars accusing Bellato of ‘flopping’, Craig took the opposite route in his post-fight media availability. Craig dismissed the narrative that Bellato was looking for an ‘easy way out’ in their UFC Atlanta matchup, but understood where skeptics were coming from.
Craig returned to the UFC light heavyweight division after an up-and-down tenure at middleweight. Before UFC Atlanta, Craig lost three-straight fights, including defeats to Bo Nickal and Caio Borralho.
Meanwhile, Bellato will look to get back on track after a bizarre night at UFC Atlanta. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum defeated Ihor Potieria for his lone UFC victory in December 2023.