UFC's Rodolfo Bellato issues statement on 'actor' accusations after appearing to flop
This past Saturday's light heavyweight bout between Bellato (12-2-1 MMA, 1-0-1 UFC) and Paul Craig (17-9-1 MMA, 9-9-1 UFC) was ruled a no contest after Bellato was illegally upkicked with just one second remaining in Round 1. As soon as he was struck, Bellato complained to referee Kevin MacDonald, then fell back to the canvas as he appeared knocked out. He immediately regained consciousness and tried to wrestle MacDonald, which had many people – including the ESPN broadcast team – accusing him of milking the extent of the damage.
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Well aware of the criticism, Bellato released a statement on Instagram.
"I saw some things on the internet, saying I was an actor there and stuff," Bellato wrote. ".. 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 2x in less than 30 days, 2 trips in a row. Why would I fake something after all I been through and on top of that winning the first round?"
Craig refused to accuse Bellato of quitting and took full responsibility for throwing the illegal upkick that caused the fight-ending sequence.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC fighter who appeared to flop addresses 'actor' accusations
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