UFC Light Heavyweight Rodolfo Bellato spoke the controversy about his 'no-contest' result in UFC Atlanta.
Despite his matchup with Paul Craig resulting in a 'no competition' at UFC Atlanta, UFC Light Heavyweight Rodolfo Bellato remains one of the biggest stories of Saturday's map.
The light heavyweight matchup between Craig and Bellato came to an anticlimactic end to complete the UFC Atlanta Prelims. While Bellato appeared on the edge to finish Craig from Top-Mount, Craig threw an illegal up-kick that landed Flush to Bellato's head before Bellato immediately protested the violation against the nearby referee.
Bellato was then flat on his back and seemed heavily dazed by the strike, eventually in an attempt to struggle the civil servant before doctors attended him. The fight was ruled as a 'no competition' in one of the strangest goals for a fight in recent UFC history.
Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC
Rodolfo Bellato claims that he 'does not remember anything' immediately after illegal up-kick at UFC Atlanta
After the fight, including Justin Gaethje and Anthony Smith, Bellato accused it to be eliminated by Craig's Up-Kick. None of the UFC matchmakers was made available for comments after the bizarre end to Bellato vs. Craig.
In the midst of accusations of 'flopping', Bellato broke his silence on social media after UFC Atlanta.
In a recent Instagram post, Bellato appealed to skeptics after the controversial end of his fight at UFC Atlanta.
“God knows all the things! For everyone who welcomes for me, I am in good health and will come back soon. Thank you very much!” Bellato started.
“And I saw a number of things on the internet and said that I was an actor there and so … The moment I was on the ground, I did not expect that I had to be kicked in the face (illegally).
“Everyone who has known me the longest knows that I would never do this, I never run out of the war. I brought twice in less than 30 days, 2 trips in a row. Why would I forget something that I have experienced and on top of that winning the first round?
“I thank all real for the positive messages. God is in charge.”
Bellato and Craig had to come to UFC Vegas 106 earlier this year, before Bellato was forced out of the fight for hours due to a 'herpes' diagnosis. The matchup was later planned for UFC Atlanta.
Paul Craig responded to claims Rodolfo Bellato 'Flopped' at UFC Atlanta
Despite various prominent UFC stars that accuse Bellato of 'flopping', Craig took the opposite route in his availability after the fight media. Craig rejected the story that Bellato was looking for an 'easy way out' in their UFC Atlanta -Matchup, but understood where skeptics came from.
Craig returned to the UFC Light Heavyweight Division after an up and down term of office in the middleweight. Before UFC Atlanta, Craig lost three consecutive fights, including defeats for Bo Nickal and Caio Borralho.
In the meantime, Bellato will try to get back on the right track after a bizarre night in UFC Atlanta. The Contender Series of Dana White defeated Ihor Potieria for his only UFC victory in December 2023.