UFC fans have taken to social media to accuse Rodolfo Bellato of 'flopping' after his fight with Paul Craig ended in a no-contest.<br /><br />On Saturday night, the UFC returned to Atlanta, Georgia, with a Fight Night card headlined by a welterweight clash between former champion Kamaru Usman and surging contender Joaquin Buckley.<br /><br />On the preliminary portion of the event, Scotland's Craig returned to the 205lb division looking to end a three-fight losing streak.<br /><br />Craig had initially been scheduled to face Bellato at an event last month before the fight was hastily postponed when the Brazilian was forced to withdraw due to a herpes infection. <br /><br />When the pair finally did meet in the Octag, neither man was able to assert themselves in the early going in the striking range.<br /><br />Bellato secured top position from a failed Craig takedown and looked set to end the fight in his opponent's guard before an illegal upkick with seconds left in the round sent him crashing to the canvas.<br /><br /><br />The unified rules of MMA classify a fighter as downed when any part of their body is touching the mat other than their hands and feet.<br /><br />After appearing to gesture towards the referee immediately after the illegal strike, Bellato then fell unconscious to the mat.<br /><br />The fight was subsequently ruled a no contest rather than a disqualification as the referee ruled Craig had not intentionally committed the foul.<br /><br />Bellato's actions following the strike sparked passionate discourse on social media, with some fans accusing him of attempting to get his opponent disqualified. <br /><br />One wrote: 'That was some terrible acting lmao the UFC brass ain’t gonna like that.'<br /><br />Another agreed: 'Flopped but up kicks aren't allowed. Super weird tho.'<br /><br />A third added: 'I haven’t watched for a while but saw this and thought legit. Then one of the commentators kept saying he’d never seen anything like it. <br /><br />'They then showed the above vision, and it’s not a natural flop for being knocked out. Then, carry on!'<br /><br />Speaking following the fight, Craig, who holds a win over current UFC light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev, expressed his frustration with how the fight ended.<br /><br />'A few people have messaged me regarding [the finish] and they're saying that it looked a bit floppish, like he was maybe hamming it up.' Craig said.<br /><br />'I don't want to think that any fighter is looking for an easy way out in this sport.<br /><br />'We're all fighters, we are all in the UFC in the pinnacle of our careers, and we are looking to put on performances.<br /><br />'I can see where people are looking at it, where it looks a bit floppy, like he's maybe dived. I don't want to think that, but I'll need to watch it back. It's raw at the moment.'<br /><br />He continued: 'It's my fault as much as it is his fault.<br /><br />'We shouldn't be looking to persecute him if he's taken the knee. It was an illegal move.'
