News Paul Craig vs Rodolfo Bellato is set for May 17

[BoxerMaurits]

Craig back at 205, with Bellato coming from a great short-notice fight against Jimmy Crute earlier this year.
Gonna be a good one

 

[WoozyFailGuy]

I got Bellato. While Craig will be a bit more durable with the weight added back on, he's been on a downhill slide in general and I don't expect a miraculous direction of course.

 

[StewDogg11]

I think id bet on a grappling dummy to beat Craig these days.

 

[TITS]

Craig is the GOAT, fuck the haters.

 

[tritestill]

Paul Craig has defeated two different UFC LHW champions and he's disrespected and forgotten about!

 

[sonhow]

Hard to imagine Craiq beating anyone atm.

 

[Hymen Crusher]

Craig got soundly outboxed by bo. Craig looks like he should be able to box but he is probably the worst in the entire division maybe roster

 

[Koala]

Paul Craig is now a stepping stone in two weight classes

 

[Deceasedxo]

It's sad how Craig has performned in recent fights. He's too old to really take time off to improve his striking defense and takedown offense. Just hope he can improve a little bit more to have entertaining losses rather than the depressing shit he's been doing lately.

 

[The_Renaissance]

This could go either way TBH. Unsure what I think of Bellato, can't make my mind up about him.

 

[GrantB13]

Come on, Mr. Craig. Get a win but don't get beat up in the process.

 

[Safton]

Gotta favor Trator. He's a big, physical guy who has shown stonewall TDD thus far. He's also got a massive youth, power, & athleticism advantage over Craig. The big knock on Bellato is traditionally his IQ and his striking defense/chin. He plods forward with his head on the center line and brawls in the pocket. This has led to him getting clipped... but I don't really have that worry against Craig, who is both pillow-fisted and a pretty abysmal striker.

Normally I find myself screaming at Bellato to shoot the takedown rather than trying to play Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots, but in this instance I think he should follow his instincts. I am hard-pressed to see him losing a protracted striking battle against Craig, though it's possible. Craig has experienced moments of success lately by gliding around on the outside spamming body kicks and noncommittal punches. He was able to inexplicably frustrate Caio in Rd 1 using this tactic and also made the fight with Bo surprisingly close in every round, arguably winning one. I could see a world where Trator looks a bit flat-footed and ends up "chasing" Craig, reaching and lunging on punches but failing to cut off the cage and connect on that big shot until he loses a Decision on volume. However, I don't think that's the most likely outcome all things considered. Trator is a wild man and I feel like eventually he'll land something while showing zero respect for what's coming back his way.

I am not convinced Paul can get Rodolfo to the mat reliably if Crute and Talha couldn't. If it does go to the ground, I think it'll be from some weird opportunistic scramble or from Bellato dropping Craig and following him down. Worth noting that Bellato's first art was BJJ and he's got pretty legitimate competitive Jiu-Jitsu credentials. Never been submitted in MMA, either. Typically when he has been placed in danger on the ground, it is from him getting dropped and then having to defend ground strikes. Even when he takes damage in these spots, he tends to show good composure, survive, and rally late. I guess it's worth noting that Petrino managed to reverse him from the bottom, but Petrino is a fuckhuge 205er that can match Bellato's physicality/athleticism along with being a decent grappler in his own right. I wouldn't be shocked to see Craig catch Bellato with a crazy sweep or sub because it's Craig, but by the same token no one should be surprised if Trator is able to use his heavy base to just set up shop on top of him and run a conservative top game... again, assuming the fight even gets to the ground.

I'll say 65% Bellato, likely by TKO Rd 2.

 

[BigTruck]

Hard to imagine Craiq beating anyone atm.

Beating anyone ass to mouth??????

 

[Thesnake101]

Paul Craig has defeated two different UFC LHW champions and he's disrespected and forgotten about!

Because he's 1-5 in his last six, last win was in 2023 (2022 for a LHW win) and he is 37 now.

 

[sonhow]

Beating anyone ass to mouth??????

Bingo!

 

[SaltedVinegarfootstomps]

Craig spent most of his UFC career pulling rabbits out of his hat, now people just beat the shit out of the hat...and the magic is gone.