Brendan Allen will now face fellow middleweight Chris Curtis in a rematch atop UFC Vegas 90 on April 6 from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Curtis will be stepping in on short notice after an injured Marvin Vettori pulled out of the main event earlier this week.
UFC posted the following announcement to Twitter on Friday:
Marvin Vettori OUT ?
Chris Curtis IN ?@BrendanAllenMMA vs Chris Curtis 2 is on the books for #UFCVegas90 pic.twitter.com/PU0btZHnvl— UFC (@ufc) March 15, 2024
While Allen was hoping to fight someone ranked above him at 185 pounds, the No. 5 contender will now get his chance to avenge a previous loss to Curtis. Remember, “Action Man” delivered a stunning upset knockout win over Allen back in 2021. It was just Curtis’ second UFC appearance and a performance that solidified his spot in a tough middleweight division.
Check out the finish below:
HE DOES IT AGAIN!!! @Actionman513 with a HUGE win! pic.twitter.com/cv8ckD7Jq9
— UFC (@ufc) December 5, 2021
Ironically, Allen has not lost since his last fight with Curtis. “All In” has won his last six trips to the Octagon. This includes four-straight submission finishes and a recent main event shellacking of Paul Craig last November. He’s one of the hottest contenders in the division right now and a guy that could be one more finish away from title contention.
Curtis, who is no stranger to accepting fights on short notice, is coming off a solid decision win over Marc-Andre Barriault at UFC 297 this past January. The victory snapped a two-fight winless streak for “Action Man” and put him back on track to fight top 15 competition. Curtis’ shot may have come a little sooner than expected, but the veteran will now have a chance at knocking off the No. 5-ranked fighter and a guy he’s already knocked out.
Thoughts?
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