Rodolfo Bellato Denies Faking Knockout Against Paul Craig at UFC Atlanta

Rodolfo Bellato has opened up on his controversial outing against Paul Craig at UFC Atlanta. 

Bellato and Craig met in a preliminary light heavyweight clash at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Saturday. Bellato was trying to land ground-and-pound on Craig in the final seconds of the first round when he ate an illegal upkick that sent him crashing to the canvas. While “Trator” initially appeared to protest the illegal upkick, he started grappling with the referee moments later, seemingly out of confusion after being briefly unconscious. Bellato was deemed unable to continue, and the fight was declared a no contest due to an illegal blow. 

Many fans and fighters alike later questioned the authenticity of Bellato’s reaction, accusing the Brazilian of bluffing. Bellato addressed the accusations, detailing what exactly transpired in those final seconds. Bellato claims that while he initially recognized the illegal kick and protested, he started losing consciousness immediately afterwards. Bellato also notes that this was the second time he made weight after the outing was postponed from May, and it made no sense to knowingly bail out in the first round. The 29-year-old also thinks he would have won the first stanza on the scorecards.

“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 wrote on Instagram (via translte). “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 [weight twice] in less than 30 days, [two] trips in a row. Why would I fake something after all I been through and on top of that winning the first round? In the end ... I thank all the real ones for the positive messages. God is in charge.”

Craig also heard the rumors of Bellato faking the knockout, but he said wants to give the Brazilian the benefit of the doubt.

"It's my fault as much as it is his fault," Craig said at a post-fight media scrum. "We shouldn't be looking to persecute him if he's taking the knee. It was an illegal move."

Bellato now has a win, a loss, and a no contest in the UFC since making his debut in 2023. Meanwhile, Paul has registered only one win in his last seven outings. 

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