Bellato (13-3-1), who competed earlier this month, will face Modestas Bukauskas (19-7) at UFC Vegas 117 on May 16, 2026 at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.

News of the booking was first reported by MMA Fighting, after Bukauskas announced he’d signed a bout agreement. “The Baltic Gladiator” later confirmed the report on social media.

Brazil’s Rodolfo “Trator” Bellato turned back promotional newcomer and former CFFC champ Luke Fernandez at UFC 326 to kick off his 2026, earning a Performance of the Night bonus in the process for his TKO finish. The former LFA athlete is now 2-1-1 with one No Contest under the UFC banner.

Bukauskas is on his second run with the UFC, and saw a four-fight win streak snapped by Nikita Krylov back in January. Before that, he’d notched victories over Paul Craig, Ion Cutelaba and others.

The former Cage Warriors champion has had a much better run in his second UFC stint, posting a 6-2 record since returning to the organization in 2023. His first stint, from 2020 to 2021, saw him go 1-3.

UFC Vegas 117 on May 16 is set to be headlined by Arnold Allen and Melquizael Costa in a featherweight five-rounder. The following fights have been reported for the Fight Night event:

• Arnold Allen vs. Melquizael Costa
• Ketlen Vieira vs. Jacqueline Cavalcanti
• Polyana Viana vs. Alice Ardelean
• Daniel Barez vs. Luis Gurule
• Modestas Bukauskas vs. Rodolfo Bellato

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Bellato (13-3-1, 1NC) was coming off a rough year in 2025 that saw him winless in three fights. His TKO finish of Fernandez has him much more confident this year.

“2025, a hard but a year full of learning experiences for me. The draw, the no contest then the loss and everything else,” Bellato admitted, speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press following the fight. “To begin like that, it means that 2026 is going to be a great year, and I can’t wait to fight more.”

As far as a return, Bellato had one small injury following the bout. He’s hoping to get back to work soon regardless.

“Sooner the better. I just have to recover from this, it’s a small cut by the eye there. Everything’s going to be okay, I’ll be ready in a week. UFC just give me a fight, and I’m ready to fight.”

Now that bonus money is 100K instead of 50, Bellato has more money to play with, having taken home a Performance bonus on Saturday. Asked by Cageside Press what he might use the money for, Bellato said “tonight pizza is on me here, but after that we’ll settle, we’ll see what’s up.”

Watch the full UFC 326 post-fight press conference with Rodolfo Bellato above.

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With that said, it finished the night on life support at best.

Charles Oliveira opted to rely on his grappling, for the most part, in the night’s main event, a rematch with Max Holloway for the latter’s “BMF” title. Oliveira won the fight, but got a mixed reaction from fans who had anticipated a war for the belt meant to be held by the “baddest” man in MMA.

With a lack of strong candidates for Fight of the Night at UFC 326, the promotion instead opted to award four Performance of the Night bonuses, to the only four finishes on the card. Among them, Gregory “Robocop” Rodrigues won big money for his one-punch walk-off KO of Brunno Ferreira. The fight was a rematch dating back to 2023, when Ferreira finished Rodrigues.

One fight later, lightweight knockout leader Drew Dober got his hands on Michael “The Menace” Johnson and put him away. Those two fights were a course correction from a dire start to the CBS-broadcast portion of the card. With the promotion on the broadcast network for the first time, a two-hour block including prelim and main card bouts, viewers had to sit through an iffy fight between Donte Johnson and Cody Brundage, then a foul-fest featuring Cody Garbrandt and Xiao Long.

After suffering repeated low blows, Garbrandt was left on his knees, vomiting into a bucket.

Rodolfo Bellato, Alberto Montes, who both had finishes on the prelims, earned the remaining two Performance of the Night bonuses at UFC 326. All four fighters pick up $100,000 for their efforts.

UFC 326 had a gate of $8.3 million, with a sold out attendance figure of 19,480, per UFC CEO and President Dana White.

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Fernandez, who earned his UFC deal in just 15 seconds on the Contender Series last fall, was paired up with Rodolfo Bellato in the fight. The Brazilian was looking for his first win since 2023 after fighting to a draw against Jimmy Crute, seeing his fight against Paul Craig end in a No Contest, and losing to Navajo Stirling.

The fight started with an overhand to a knee to the body from Fernandez. A few times, Fernandez was landing that looping right hand. He wasn’t nervous at all, letting it go early. Bellato wasn’t moving his head and was eating that right hand and the jab over and over. Bellato was patient and, in an exchange, landed a short left hook on the chin. That dropped Fernandez, and Bellato swarmed with ground and pound until the ref stepped in.

Following the fight, a big win for Bellato, he noted his increased confidence having recently moved to American Top Team in Florida.

Official Result: Rodolfo Bellato def. Luke Fernandez via TKO (left hook and Ground n’ Pound), Round 1, 2:42

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Bellato was looking to douse the flames still smoldering from the firestorm of controversy that enveloped him following his last outing, a No Contest opposite Paul Craig. Many fans had pointed the finger at Bellato, accusing him of faking the effects of an illegal blow that had taken him out of the bout prematurely.

Perhaps wary of Stirling’s power, Bellato took the fight to the fence early, tying things up and seeking a takedown without much success. Stirling would eventually reverse, peppering Bellato with shots both before and after taking the dominant position. The pair then got off the fence, three minutes still on the clock, with Bellato firing a front kick, and Stirling a right hand.

The pair would continue to slug it out on the feet a little longer before Bellato again tied things up with just over a minute remaining. When they came out of that clinch, there was a brief firefight to close out the round.

Navajo Stirling landed a takedown early in round two, flipping the script. While not the most active on top and warned by the ref to keep working, Stirling was still showing a well-rounded game for a fighter with under 10 pro bouts. Stirling would ride out that position until the final minute of the frame; back on the face, Bellato walked forward, but Stirling met him with knees and kicks to the body. Bellato then landed a right hand, ripped the body with a left, then went upstairs.

Round three found Bellato coming out and putting the pressure on Stirling early on. Stirling in turn ripped the body, then both men changed levels simultaneously, cancelling each other out. Bellato would again tie things up against the cage, though they would not stay there long. At least not initially. They would end up clinching again, however, with Bellato trying to take the back while Stirling was on one knee. Navajo would escape, and later on they’d both fan on spinning attacks. Stirling the landed a right, and Bellato a jab, towards the final horn.

It was Navajo Stirling taking the victory after 15 minutes, improving to 8-0.

“Ibo Aslan, I think you’re f*cking dogsh*t,” Stirling said in a post-fight callout, referring to his originally scheduled opponent. “Let’s run it!”

Official Result: Navajo Stirling def. Rodolfo Bellato by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

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Bellato (12-2-1) withdrew from the bout on fight night due to a medical issue. He came into UFC Atlanta off a majority draw bout against Jimmy Crute at UFC 312.

Craig (17-9-1) was in need of a win pretty badly. Although his three consecutive losses came against high-level opponents it’s still the dreaded 3-fight skid. He came into Atlanta looking to right the ship and save his roster spot.

Round 1 Bellato came out fast with rather reckless and wide hooks off the rip. Craig employed his usual possum-style offense staying close to the fence and throwing kicks. Inviting Bellato to take him down for sure.

Bellato landed a big right hand on Craig who definitely felt it and then fired off a spinning side kick to the body. Craig shot in for a takedown which Bellato easily stuffed.

Craig shot a couple more times after, and got a quick trip takedown, but Bellato popped right back up to his feet. Craig shot again, but ended up on his back with Bellato on top in half guard landing short shots.

In the final seconds of the first round Craig fired an up kick that knocked Bellato out so badly he thought he was still fighting when the ref came to help and check on him. The replay showed that Bellato was a downed fighter and the up kick was illegal.

Replays also showed Bellato looking at the ref on the way down, and then go out. Very strange sequence to end the fight. Third booking?

Official Result: Paul Craig vs. Rodolfo Bellato declared NO CONTEST due to accidental illegal up kick. 

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Promotion officials announced the news during the UFC Vegas 106 broadcast, much to the dismay of fight fans. Craig vs. Bellato was looked at as a big step up for Bellato, who was being tested against a veteran in Craig who had hit something of a rough patch in recent times.

Perhaps the only silver lining is that, per the UFC Vegas 106 broadcast team, the promotion is attempting to rebook the fight, for either later this month, or early June. May 31, which has a Fight Night card slotted in for the UFC Apex, is one potential landing spot for Paul Craig vs. Rodolfo Bellato.

An illness suffered by one of the fighters was cited as the reason behind the co-main event’s cancellation. The development underscores the perils of thinly booked UFC Fight Night cards housed at the Apex – even the UFC Vegas 106 main event had to be hastily shifted from UFC 315, where Gilbert Burns and Michael Morales were originally scheduled for fight.

The cancellation sees Sodiq Yusuff and Mairon Santos land in the co-main event spot on Saturday as a result.

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“That move to middleweight, at the time, was a great idea. After that victory against Andre Muniz in London was incredible,” Craig told reporters on Wednesday.

“I didn’t really get a chance to get running as a middleweight. That’s because I had three high-level opponents in front of me. I had Caio Borralho, Brendan Allen and Bo Nickal. They’re no slouches in this game and to lose to them it’s not an embarrassment.”

Craig (17-9-1) dropping three fights to top middleweights isn’t an issue, but he’s clearly on the hot seat at this point. He hopes the move back to 205 will be a factor in winning the fight against Bellato.

“It’s difficult to pick yourself up after three losses because this sport is about entertaining. If you’re not entertaining, you’re not winning, then the UFC have no right to keep you. I know that myself,” he said.

“I’m not under any illusion that a loss come Saturday night would potentially result in me not having a UFC contract on Monday morning. That for me is fire. That’s what I think I need.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Paul Craig above. He takes on Rodolfo Bellato at UFC Vegas 106 on Saturday night.

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“I feel ready, I’m ready to go. It’s my third fight in the UFC, so I’m really honored by this opportunity,” said Bellato (12-2-1) during the UFC Vegas 106 media day on Wednesday, ahead of his co-main event fight against veteran Paul Craig.

The aforementioned draw experienced by Bellato last time out came against Jimmy Crute, another fighter with far more cage time inside the UFC octagon. “I learned a lot from that fight, actually, a lot of mistakes, a lot of things I can look back at,” admitted Bellato. “And you know since I didn’t fight last year, I want to remain active, so I wanted to get back in here as quick as possible for sure.”

Craig, despite his long tenure with the company and submission prowess, is “a great match-up for me,” Bellato suggested. He noted that he’d discussed the fight with his coach, saying “we can create a good strategy around him, a good game plan. He’s got a great name, so it was all good for me.”

The name seems the biggest attraction for Bellato, and he hopes a win at UFC Vegas 106 this Saturday will inch him closer to the top 15. “He was ranked eighth in this division, this guy’s got a big name, a lot of people know him. So I’m sure that this is a fight that’s going to get me closer to the rankings, and it’s going to get my name out there too.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 106 media day appearance by Rodolfo Bellato above.

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It was a hometown homecoming for Crute, whose last action had been a July 2023 loss against Alonzo Menifield.

Crute, the smaller man in the cage at the Qudos Bank Arena on Saturday, showed a bit of flash early, firing a spinning back kick. Not much came from it, but Crute then reversed a Bellato takedown attempt, quickly moved to mount, and threatened with an arm-triangle choke. Bellato, perhaps a bit overwhelmed, managed to fend off the submission and reclaim half-guard. Jimmy Crute, however, would spend the bulk of the round on top, in a fantastic start that saw him find just enough room to land a bit of ground n’ pound, while not emptying the tank or taking any damage himself.

In the final 30 seconds, Bellato got back up, but Crute tagged him, then dropped him moments later! Crute pounced, firing elbows, but Bellato somehow survived the round. Very much worse for the wear.

Round two opened with Bellato almost certainly still compromised. Crute took the fight too him, leaning into punches and seemingly forgetting the success he had on the ground in the opening round. In a clinch, however, Crute popped off two or three textbook uppercuts. Bellato went to the body, but was showing signs of fatigue, hands down, movement clunky. Two minutes in, and Crute finally shot, staying on the attempt only for Bellato to scramble back, escaping. Crute then fired off another spinning kick to the midsection, while Bellato chopped at his lead leg.

The back half of the round found Crute slowing as well, however. His mouth was open, and Bellato’s strikes were having a little more effect. Both men landed in an exchange, and Bellato worked over the body some more. By the end of the round, Bellato had managed to force Crute to retreat once or twice. The Brazilian himself was bloodied, but another low kick saw Crute shaking out his leg.

If Bellato had managed to steal round two late, the fight was up for grabs in the third. If not, the Brazilian would be in need of a finish. Crute shot for a takedown early in the third, but Bellato scrambled free. Crute then punched his way into the pocket, with Bellato backing out, regrouping, and landing a heavy leg kick. Each and every leg kick seemed to be having more of an effect on Crute, even as he continued to land on the larger man. And just past the midway mark, it was Rodolfo Bellato landing a takedown of his own. Crute got up, went back down to a knee, then exploded out, not staying down long.

Back on the feet, Crute continued to attack, but the counters of Bellato were having more of an effect. Bellato fired off a couple of punches that had some real heat behind him. They finished the round brawling, heading to the scorecards in a hard-fought affair that was entertaining from start to finish.

With the scorecards very much in question, a draw was in play. And that’s what was announced, a majority draw, with 28-28 scores from two judges.

Official Result: Jimmy Crute vs. Rodolfo Bellato ends in a majority draw (29-27, 28-28, 28-28)

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