Paul Craig and Rodolfo Bellato were scheduled to face off in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 106. But it wasn’t long before walk-outs that the fight was postponed when Bellato was forced out due to herpes.
The fight finally happened as the featured prelim of UFC Atlanta; however, once again, the fight ended without a clear winner. An accidental foul resulted in Bellato unable to continue in the waning seconds of the first round, leading to the fight being called a no contest.
Both men brought their power out early, with Craig looking to work the body, while Bellato looked to chop Craig down with leg kicks. Bellato rocked Craig with a punch about midway through the round, and when Craig went for a takedown, Bellato stuffed it and got into top control.
It was on the ground where the trouble happened, however. Bellato, with his knees grounded, was hit by an up-kick from Craig — an illegal shot. The kick appeared to do damage, knocking Bellato briefly unconscious before he woke up still scrambling and troubling, apparently unaware of what had just happened.
That said, plenty on the MMA sphere of social media platform X felt Bellato was playing it up — noting his look in the referee’s direction immediately after the kick landed.
Paul Craig vs. Rodolfo Bellato Ends In No Contest At UFC Atlanta
Craig is now winless in four straight, heading into tonight on a three-fight losing skid, and he now has just one win in his last seven fights.
Bellato is now unbeaten in his last six fights, stretching back to fights in the LFA. Prior to tonight, Bellato’s run in the UFC since coming in from Dana White’s Contender Series included a finish of Ihor Potieria and a draw with Jimmy Crute.
