Rodolfo Bellato has denied he was ‘acting’ in his fight with Paul Craig at UFC Atlanta, where the pair fought to a No Contest after a bizarre scene on Saturday.
Scotland’s Craig threw an up-kick at Bellato, an illegal strike given the Brazilian was on a knee, but it appeared to miss Bellato’s head and strike his neck.
Bellato, 29, fell to his back while protesting to the referee, yet when he hit the mat, he appeared to be unconscious – with his eyes closed and body limp. The referee then halted the fight and approached Bellato to check on him, but the light-heavyweight appeared to jolt awake and try to grapple the official.
It was a strange scene, considering Bellato was conscious during his short fall to the mat, and it led many fans to criticise the Brazilian and accuse him of acting.
But Bellato has now hit back, after the fight was ruled a No Contest, writing on Instagram: “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 don’t remember anything.
“Anyone who’s known me the longest knows I would NEVER do this, I’ve never run from war […] Why would I fake something after all I’ve been through and on top of that winning the first round?”
His comments are unlikely to sway the opinions of several fighters, including former interim lightweight champion Justin Gaethje, who tweeted: “Biggest flop in MMA history.” Angela Hill added: “Am I crazy for thinking he faked this? How do you look at the ref and complain on the way to being ko’ed?”
Former light-heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith said on ESPN’s post-fight show: “You see his eyes come to the referee to protest, and then he realises: ‘Maybe I can get a free win.’ Lays there, pretends he’s unconscious, jolts back awake allegedly.
“The referee comes over. That is a man that is awake, pretends to grapple the referee as if he’s unconscious, trying to get a cheap win. I’ve been doing this a long time, and I know what it looks like when somebody is faking it.”
“Flopped to try and get a DQ…” wrote Kyle Daukaus, while Renato Moicano tweeted: “Bro wtf!!! He fell looking to the ref lol [then] was out.”
Craig, however, said he did not wish to believe that Bellato would fake his reaction to the kick. The 37-year-old said in a post-fight interview: “A few people messaged me regarding this, and they’re saying that it looked a bit floppish, like he was maybe hamming it up.
“I don’t want to think any fighter is looking for an easy way out in this sport. We’re all fighters. We’re all in the UFC, the pinnacle of our careers, and we’re looking to put on a performance.”