“He didn’t plan to be there. He saw an opportunity, went to take the opportunity, he needed the money.” Chael Sonnen didn’t mince his words when reacting to Rodolfo Bellato’s no-contest bout against Paul Craig at UFC Atlanta. During an exchange on the ground, Craig sent a up-kick at Bellato that sent him to the canvas. The Brazilian was visibly shaken, and after a moment of confusion, he slumped the canvas, and he started convulsing. Most of the fighting community claimed that it was all an act. But it was apparently far from the truth.

Following his defeat at UFC Atlanta, ‘Trator’ reacted to the callouts by the fans. He thanked the ones who were concerned and claimed that he was alright now. He continued, “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.” And now, Aljamain Sterling’s coach, Ray Longo, stood in support of the light heavyweight contender. 

During a conversation with Jon Anik on the Anik and Florian Podcast, Longo said, “I think there’s a lot going on here. I think I’m gonna defend the guy. He gets up kicked. What I think happened, looked at the ref like, ‘What the f—!’ And then his head bounced off the canvas. And it was like second impact syndrome and he went out. He didn’t know where he was. He started crawling to the fence. I mean, the weirdness is that he did look at the ref like to say that’s what everybody’s keying in on. Can your brain act that quick, where you look at a ref and then you make the decision, ‘I’m gonna act.’ This is like a split second. If he could do that I give him a lot of credit.”

This moment is eerily similar to Longo’s fighter Aljamain Sterling, who won the title from Petr Yan in the most disastrous way possible. Back in 2021, the pair met at UFC 259 when the Russian was the undisputed champion. There was a moment in the fight that ‘No Mercy’ was winning, where he threw a knee at a downed ‘Funk Master’ in the fourth round.

The result? The fight was called off, Yan was disqualified, and Sterling became the unwilling champion in the moment. The only difference was, the referee Mark Smith chose to disqualify the offending fighter. However, the MMA community wasn’t happy with ‘Funk Master’ winning the title in the manner that he did. He seemed hurt and visibly distressed despite winning the title, but the next day, he seemed in good spirits and embraced winning the title in a bizarre manner.

Coming back to the Paul Craig vs. Rodolfo Bellato fight, Ray Longo blamed second impact syndrome for the bizarre moment involving the Brazilian. It’s a condition where athletes sustain a second concussion before the symptoms from the first concussion are resolved—leading to a loss of consciousness, seizures, and neurological deterioration. But the fans weren’t ready to accept that argument by the famed Serra-Longo coach. However, Craig, himself, admitted that it was all a mistake on his part. Let’s hear it from the Scotsman himself. 

Paul Craig takes full responsibility for bizarre moment in Rodolfo Bellato fight

Following the battle against Rodolfo Bellato at UFC Atlanta, Paul Craig defended his Brazilian counterpart, stating, “A few people messaged me and they’re saying it looked a bit ‘flop’ish, like he was maybe hamming it up. I wouldn’t think any fighter is looking for an easy way out in this sport. We’re all fighters, we’re all in the UFC at the pinnacle of our careers, and we’re looking to put on performances.”

‘Bear Jew’ seemed to have noted the mistake as well. And it was definitely his upward kick that caused the entire debacle. He continued, “But I can see where people are looking at it like it looks a bit ‘flop’ish, like he’s taking a dive. I don’t want to think that, but I need to watch it back. It’s my fault as much as it is his fault. We shouldn’t be looking to persecute him if he’s taking the knee. It was an illegal move.”

Nevertheless, UFC on ESPN 69 didn’t really end with a disqualification for Paul Craig, but it did end in a no-contest. Yes, the referee in charge, Kevin MacDonald, could have disqualified Craig for his upkick from his back. But on the other hand, many professionals and fans claim that it was all an Oscar-worthy performance. But what do you think? Was Rodolfo Bellato acting up as he went down against Paul Craig? We’d love to hear your thoughts.