Paul Craig Breaks His Silence on The Controversial End To His Last Bout: “Look behind me and I see him flailing the ground”
UFC light heavyweight Paul Craig has spoken about the controversial ending to his last fight against Rodolfo Bellato.
As we know, Paul Craig is an absolute warrior. He has been in the UFC for a long time now and while he’s had plenty of low points, he’s also had a lot of incredible wins, especially over the likes of Shogun Rua, Jamahal Hill and current light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev.
In his last outing, though, Paul Craig fought to a no contest against Rodolfo Bellato after an illegal upkick led to the ruling that Bellato was unable to continue. It was a strange end to a strange fight, and it certainly seems as if both men are trying their best to simply move on from the whole thing.
In a recent interview, though, Paul Craig spoke openly about the incident.
Paul Craig discusses Rodolfo Bellato fight
“At the time in my head, I had struck him as he was moving to an illegal, he was in a legal position before moving into an illegal position. So for me it’s the same as if your opponent’s on the ground, you’ve got him in turtle and you’re punching him and you happen to punch the back of the head because he’s moving. If he’s moving, he’s moving himself into that strike.
“And for me, as you see me stand up and I plead to the referee, he was in transition because at that point, the difference in that could be two points or one point. And I’m trying to say this was a—I intentionally tried to kick him but not as a downed opponent, which would take it to the point of being an illegal move and then resulting in a DQ.
“So when I stand up and I plead to the referee and I walk away, I’m unaware of what’s happening in the back. I look at Dominic Cruz and I give him the thumbs up or the thumbs down and he goes gives me the thumbs down. Like that’s a guy you’re going to trust to call it the right way. He’s a very good commentator and martial artist.
“So he’s telling me, ‘Listen, you’re not getting it.’ So I walk away and I’m looking up at the screen and I can see the upkick and I’m like, ‘Right, that’s fine. I’m cool with upkick. I know it’s in transition.’
“And then I hear this commotion behind me and I look behind me and I see him flailing the ground and I’m like, ‘Oh my god, this is…’ As a fighter, you do not want to do above and beyond the unnecessary damage… It was just a weird situation and it resulted in me getting a no contest.”
