Cold sores are still a point of contention in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

At UFC Vegas 106 in May, the light heavyweight match between
Rodolfo
Bellato (12-2) and Paul Craig
(17-9) was scuttled on fight night due to a medical issue suffered
by Bellato. “Trator” recently detailed exactly what happened that
night, causing the bout to shift to UFC Atlanta in June.

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According to Bellato, he told Brazilian outlet
Ag. Fight has always had a hereditary cold sore problem.
Despite a lifelong struggle with the ailment, it hadn’t troubled
him in some time. However, the Brazilian unexpectedly woke up with
cold sores on his face on the day of the fight against “Bearjew.”
While some criticized Bellato for not detecting the problem on
time, the 29-year-old is just taking it as another lesson.

“I hadn’t had it for a long time,” Bellato explained through Google
Translate. “I always knew I had [cold sores]. My mother has it, my
father has it, and it hadn’t happened for a long time. I know it’s
not something that can be cured, but I said, ‘I haven’t had it for
so long, why would it happen now?’ On the day of the fight, when I
woke up, I felt that itch in my mouth and said, ‘It’s not
possible.’ And there in Vegas, the weather is really dry, my mouth
was already all cracked. I think it all came together.”

The Brazilian continued, “I did my part, I trained, I did
everything I had to do, but this is not something you can predict.
I saw a lot of people saying that I could have predicted it, taken
a medicine. After it happens, it’s easy to talk about it. After
years, I never imagined it would happen. So, it was another
learning experience in my career.”

Bellato earned his contract on Dana White’s Contender Series and scored a wild
comeback win over Ihor
Potieria in his UFC debut in 2023. Bellato was then forced out
of a matchup against Oumar Sy due
to kidney inflammation that saw him sidelined throughout 2024.
Bellato returned to action at UFC 312 in February, fighting to a
draw with Jimmy
Crute. Meanwhile, Craig looks to rebound from a three fight
slump this weekend, albeit all of those losses coming against elite
opposition.

IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

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