Paul Craig breaks silence on Rodolfo Bellato fight cancellation

Scottish fan favourite Paul Craig has finally addressed the abrupt cancellation of his highly anticipated bout against Rodolfo Bellato at UFC Vegas 106, which was set to take place in the co-main event last Saturday.

The fight was called off just moments before it was scheduled to begin due to what was initially described as a “medical issue.” Craig, who was already backstage warming up, was informed that Bellato had been pulled from the matchup.

Later, Bellato took to social media to reveal the reason behind the cancellation — a skin infection, which he identified as herpes.

Until now, Craig had remained silent about the incident. However, on Monday evening, he broke his silence during a conversation with UFC commentators Michael Bisping and Paul Felder.

“Hunter Campbell comes in and I’m like, ‘Whoa, that’s very unusual,’” Craig recalled.

“I don’t know why he’s coming in — he never comes in to wish me good luck,” he added.

Expressing the emotional toll of the last-minute cancellation, Craig opened up about the disappointment he felt backstage.

“It’s hard when you’re ready for something. I was frustrated and just wanted to kick and hit stuff. I had worked hard for this fight, and then everything was ripped away from me.”

“He comes in and says, ‘Look, your opponent has pulled out due to a skin infection’. It’s hard. Have you been in that predicament where you are ready to walk out? I’m talking like 30 minutes.

“It’s almost surreal. You’re frustrated. You wanna kick and hit stuff. Everything you’ve worked for up until that point is kind of ripped away from you." he concluded.