Latest news with #NoContest
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Craig admits to 'illegal move' in controversial 'no contest'
Scotland's Paul Craig has urged UFC fans not "to persecute" Rodolfo Bellato after he was accused of "hamming it up" by "flopping" to the canvas following a kick to the face during their light-heavyweight contest in Atlanta. Craig admits it was "an illegal move" that resulted in the fight being ruled a no contest. Advertisement The fight had been postponed from 14 weeks ago when the 29-year-old Brazilian pulled out with a cold sore - and this time it was cut short seconds before the end of round one. "A few people have messaged me regarding this and are saying that it looked a bit floppish - like he was maybe hamming it up," said the 37-year-old Craig. "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 of our careers - and we're looking to put on performances. But I can see where people are looking at it and think it looks a bit floppish, like he's maybe taking a dive." Craig admitted it was "raw at the moment" but did not want to think that might be the case. Advertisement "I was in the neutral corner, I was looking over and I was seeing him kind of flop like he was trying to wrestle the referee and he was in a daze, but when I spoke to him, he seemed pretty compos mentis and he was like, 'I don't know what happened'," he added. "You know what, it's my fault as much as it is his fault. We shouldn't be looking to persecute him if he's taking taken the knee - it was an illegal move." To make matters worse for Craig, he had moved back up a weight hoping to put a three-loss streak behind him in what was the final fight of his current UFC contract. "I'm now in the best shape I've ever been in," he said. "I was wanting to make a stamp in that division and say, hey, I am back. Advertisement "I've got to take positives from it. I felt good in there and I was moving well. I was landing my shots and my shot selection was perfect. "But, in the heat of the moment, I thought he was standing up, so I throw my axe kick, looking to land a heavy upkick to his face." Craig pointed out that a no-contest was at least not as bad as another defeat and is hopeful of a rematch with Bellato. If not, he is willing to go up against "any light-heavyweight the UFC offers" and believes he could even repeat his 2018 win over current champion Magomed Ankalaev if given the chance. More MMA from the BBC
The Independent
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
UFC fighter accused of faking KO explains bizarre reaction to kick
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.'
Scottish Sun
6 days ago
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
‘Need to cut him' – Fans call for UFC star Rodolfo Bellato to be AXED by Dana White after controversial ‘dive'
Scot UFC star Paul Craig has also had his say on the incident 'Need to cut him' – Fans call for UFC star Rodolfo Bellato to be AXED by Dana White after controversial 'dive' Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) UFC fans have called for Dana White to axe Rodolfo Bellato for seemingly pretending to be knocked out by an illegal upkick from Paul Craig. The pair's rescheduled light-heavyweight showdown in Atlanta ended in a No Contest this morning after the Brazilian was deemed unable to continue after being kicked in the face. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 6 Paul Craig's rescheduled showdown with Rodolfo Bellato ended in controversy Credit: SHUTTERSTOCK 6 Craig caught the Brazilian with an illegal upkick seconds before the end of the first round Credit: SHUTTERSTOCK 6 Brazilian Bellator appeared to be knocked out by the strike Credit: SHUTTERSTOCK 6 But replays appeared to show the 29-year-old was still conscious as he theatrically fell backwards Credit: SHUTTERSTOCK Scottish submission specialist Craig struck a postured-up Bellato - who had one knee on the canvas - with the kick seconds before the end of the first round. Bellato initially looked like he'd been knocked out by the strike as he lay on the canvas with his arms sprawled out. But replays showed the Dana White's Contenders Series contract winner was still conscious as he theatrically fell to the mat. Bellato seemingly regained consciousness very quickly and, in an apparent daze, tried to protect himself by scooting his back to the cage wall. READ MORE UFC NEWS 'DIDN'T WANT TO' Ilia Topuria explains reason for major career change ahead of UFC 317 The former LFA champion was deemed unable to keep fighting, resulting in the contest being ruled a No Contest. MMA fans weren't convinced Bellato was genuinely hurt by the upkick and took to X to call for the UFC to cut the 29-year-old for play-acting. One wrote: "Rodolfo Bellato faked a brutal KO just to try and get a cheap win over Paul Craig. "What a complete embarrassment!!! The UFC needs to cut him immediately." JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS 6 Rodolfo Bellato was deemed unable to continue the contest Credit: Alamy 6 UFC fans have called for Dana White to axe Rodolfo Bellato for his apparent playacting Credit: GETTY Another said: "Cut his a** immediately! And another said: "I told my son right away he was obviously faking, thinking Craig would be disqualified. Absolutely insane." Paul Craig Admits He Faces UFC AXE If He Loses UFC Vegas 106 Bout One remarked: "Bro protested and faked being concussed all in the space of five seconds. Embarrassment to the sport." Another chimed in: "Yeah, Dana should fire this guy immediately. Who does that?" One stunned viewer said: "That dive by Bellato was top tier." Craig addressed the narrative that Bellato flopped in his post-fight press conference, saying: "A few people messaged me regarding this. I don't want to think any fighter is looking for an easy way out in this sport." Paul Craig on Rodolfo Bellato's apparent playacting "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. 'But I can see where people are looking at and think it looks a bit 'floppishly', 'he's maybe taking a dive.' 'I don't really think that, but I'll need to watch it back. It's raw at the moment.'
The Irish Sun
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
‘Need to cut him' – Fans call for UFC star Rodolfo Bellato to be AXED by Dana White after controversial ‘dive'
UFC fans have called for Dana White to axe Rodolfo Bellato for seemingly pretending to be knocked out by an illegal upkick from Paul Craig. The pair's rescheduled light-heavyweight showdown in Atlanta ended in a No Contest this morning after the Brazilian was deemed unable to continue after being kicked in the face. 6 Paul Craig's rescheduled showdown with Rodolfo Bellato ended in controversy Credit: SHUTTERSTOCK 6 Craig caught the Brazilian with an illegal upkick seconds before the end of the first round Credit: SHUTTERSTOCK 6 Brazilian Bellator appeared to be knocked out by the strike Credit: SHUTTERSTOCK 6 But replays appeared to show the 29-year-old was still conscious as he theatrically fell backwards Credit: SHUTTERSTOCK Scottish submission specialist Craig struck a postured-up Bellato - who had one knee on the canvas - with the kick seconds before the end of the first round. Bellato initially looked like he'd been knocked out by the strike as he lay on the canvas with his arms sprawled out. But replays showed the Dana White's Contenders Series contract winner was still conscious as he theatrically fell to the mat. Bellato seemingly regained consciousness very quickly and, in an apparent daze, tried to protect himself by scooting his back to the cage wall. READ MORE UFC NEWS The former LFA champion was deemed unable to keep fighting, resulting in the contest being ruled a No Contest. MMA fans weren't convinced Bellato was genuinely hurt by the upkick and took to X to call for the UFC to cut the 29-year-old for play-acting. One wrote: "Rodolfo Bellato faked a brutal KO just to try and get a cheap win over Paul Craig. "What a complete embarrassment!!! The UFC needs to cut him immediately." Most read in MMA JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS 6 Rodolfo Bellato was deemed unable to continue the contest Credit: ALAMY 6 UFC fans have called for Dana White to axe Rodolfo Bellato for his apparent playacting Credit: GETTY Another said: "Cut his a** immediately! And another said: "I told my son right away he was obviously faking, thinking Craig would be disqualified. Absolutely insane." Paul Craig Admits He Faces UFC AXE If He Loses UFC Vegas 106 Bout One remarked: "Bro protested and faked being concussed all in the space of five seconds. Embarrassment to the sport." Another chimed in: "Yeah, Dana should fire this guy immediately. Who does that?" One stunned viewer said: "That dive by Bellato was top tier." Craig addressed the narrative that Bellato flopped in his post-fight press conference, saying: "A few people messaged me regarding this. I don't want to think any fighter is looking for an easy way out in this sport." Paul Craig on Rodolfo Bellato's apparent playacting "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. 'But I can see where people are looking at and think it looks a bit 'floppishly', 'he's maybe taking a dive.' 'I don't really think that, but I'll need to watch it back. It's raw at the moment.'
The Sun
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Sun
‘Need to cut him' – Fans call for UFC star Rodolfo Bellato to be AXED by Dana White after controversial ‘dive'
UFC fans have called for Dana White to axe Rodolfo Bellato for seemingly pretending to be knocked out by an illegal upkick from Paul Craig. The pair's rescheduled light-heavyweight showdown in Atlanta ended in a No Contest this morning after the Brazilian was deemed unable to continue after being kicked in the face. 6 6 6 6 Scottish submission specialist Craig struck a postured-up Bellato - who had one knee on the canvas - with the kick seconds before the end of the first round. Bellato initially looked like he'd been knocked out by the strike as he lay on the canvas with his arms sprawled out. But replays showed the Dana White 's Contenders Series contract winner was still conscious as he theatrically fell to the mat. Bellato seemingly regained consciousness very quickly and, in an apparent daze, tried to protect himself by scooting his back to the cage wall. The former LFA champion was deemed unable to keep fighting, resulting in the contest being ruled a No Contest. MMA fans weren't convinced Bellato was genuinely hurt by the upkick and took to X to call for the UFC to cut the 29-year-old for play-acting. One wrote: "Rodolfo Bellato faked a brutal KO just to try and get a cheap win over Paul Craig. "What a complete embarrassment!!! The UFC needs to cut him immediately." JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS 6 6 Another said: "Cut his a** immediately! And another said: "I told my son right away he was obviously faking, thinking Craig would be disqualified. Absolutely insane." Paul Craig Admits He Faces UFC AXE If He Loses UFC Vegas 106 Bout One remarked: "Bro protested and faked being concussed all in the space of five seconds. Embarrassment to the sport." Another chimed in: "Yeah, Dana should fire this guy immediately. Who does that?" One stunned viewer said: "That dive by Bellato was top tier." Craig addressed the narrative that Bellato flopped in his post-fight press conference, saying: "A few people messaged me regarding this. I don't want to think any fighter is looking for an easy way out in this sport." Paul Craig on Rodolfo Bellato's apparent playacting "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. 'But I can see where people are looking at and think it looks a bit 'floppishly', 'he's maybe taking a dive.' 'I don't really think that, but I'll need to watch it back. It's raw at the moment.'
