Anthony Smith thinks one UFC fighter was looking for a free win.
If there’s anyone who knows what it’s like to be hit with an illegal strike, it’s Smith. “Lionheart” was hit with an illegal knee from Jon Jones in their 2019 title fight. While Smith could’ve milked the foul, he refused to take the out and kept on fighting. Six years later, Smith served as a desk analyst for UFC Atlanta and he witnessed a bout that ended due to an illegal upkick.
Fans have been outraged, believing that the fighter who was struck by the illegal shot tried to snag a DQ win.
RELATED: UFC ATLANTA RESULTS: RODOLFO BELLATO VS. PAUL CRAIG ENDS IN A NO-CONTEST (VIDEO)
Anthony Smith Accuses Rodolfo Bellato of Flopping
During the UFC Atlanta post-show, Anthony Smith rewatched the moment Paul Craig hit Rodolfo Bellato with the illegal upkick. “Lionheart” is convinced that after Bellato looked at the referee to point out the foul, he immediately went into flop mode (via MMAFighting).
“He’s going to look to the referee, ‘Oh my god that’s illegal! Oh I better pretend I’m unconscious,” Smith said doing play-by-play while rewatching the fight. “The jolt back awake. This is the worst performance I’ve ever seen. The referee knows this is not really happening. I feel really bad for Paul Craig.
“We’re laughing about it and joking because it is so silly what happened here with Rodolfo Bellato and Paul Craig but Paul Craig, although he did break the rules. We have to address that. He did break the rules. It wasn’t intentional. But that’s a fight that seemingly could have continued. I’m not going to pretend I’m in his head and can tell how bad it actually did hurt. He definitely was not unconscious and hurt as he was pretending to be. That’s for sure.”
Ultimately, the fight was ruled a no contest. If the UFC brass also feels Bellato faked being unconscious, that might not bode well for him. So far, he is 1-1, 1 NC under the UFC banner.
