Anthony Smith is around a fight game long enough to recognize a knockout and believes it wasn’t what happened to Rodolfoverato at UFC Atlanta on Saturday night.
The controversial ending of the featured qualifier came after Berato ate an illegal upkick from Paul Craig, just before the horn rang to close the first round. The kicks connected, and Berat fell backwards, appearing to protest the referee over the illegal blow.
A moment later, Berat suddenly lost consciousness, and he woke up again, trying to wrestle the judge before the fight ceases. Ultimately, referee Kevin McDonald declared the fight a non-contest, but Smith does not buy that Bellato was knocked out at that moment.
“It was a great fight until everything ended strangely,” Smith told the UFC Atlanta Post Fight Show. “Paul Craig was really forcing a takedown. He eventually shoots a takedown, pulls the guard, stops the round edge and he puts his knee down while he puts his knee down. So I’m going to be difficult here.
“When the upkick occurs, he turns to the judge to see if he realizes that the judge is illegal. He looks right to him. His eyes see him come to the judge to protest the judge. Unconsciously, I have been doing this for a long time.
Smith saw another version of the replay and doubled his belief that Berat was forgering the knockout after the illegal shot landed.
He doesn’t dispute that Craig threw an illegal kick and connected, but Smith doesn’t buy that Berato was actually so hurt, considering his reaction.
“He’ll look to the judge, ‘Oh, my God is illegal! Ah, I’d better pretend to be unconscious,” Smith said he was playing around, rewatching the battle. “The shock wakes up. This is the worst performance I’ve ever seen. The judges know that this isn’t really happening. It really feels bad for Paul Craig.
“What happened here with Rodolfo Berato and Paul Craig is so ridiculous that we’re laughing and joking about it, but Paul Craig broke the rules. We had to deal with it. He broke the rules. It wasn’t intentional.
The battle between Craig and Berat was previously scheduled after the matchup was abolished just a few weeks ago as Berat was diagnosed with herpes. The UFC then rebooked the fight for Saturday’s card in Atlanta, with a strange knockout leading to a non-contest.
As Smith admitted that Craig was wrong with an illegal kick, he doesn’t believe the veteran light heavyweight deserves to end his night with such a strange and unhappy attitude.
“I feel like Paul Craig,” Smith said. “He tried to ensure that this fight didn’t ultimately bring about the rest of the month.”