Jack Hermansson is one of the nice guys in mixed martial arts (MMA), but that wasn’t the case at the end of his last bout with Chris Curtis in London, England.
This past weekend (July 23, 2022) at UFC London, Hermansson was forced to change up preparations on short notice after his original opponent, Darren Till, was once again injured out of a booked bout between the two. Therefore, leading to the “Action Man,” Curtis to save the day.
Unfortunately for Curtis, however, he was unable to capitalize on the opportunity, suffering a clearcut unanimous decision loss to Hermansson. “The Joker” utilized his improved movement and striking to frustrate and evade the power-puncher in each round, effectively earning two 29-28 scorecards along with one 30-27. At the fight’s end, Hermansson was met with two middle fingers from his opponent and exchanged some heated words.
“Me and Chris, we were good coming into the fight, very friendly, and I think during the fight, Chris got frustrated with what happened,” Hermansson told MMA Fighting on The MMA Hour. “After the fight, he lifts his finger to me, and I said something to him, and it got heated, but later that night we met up again and squashed the beef, so we’re all good now.”
“I just apologized for the things I said to him,” Hermansson continued. “I said, ‘F—k you, p—sy.’”
The win for Hermansson was a big one after alternating wins and losses in his previous five, most recently falling short against Sean Strickland via split decision in Feb. 2022 (watch highlights). Even against a more brash and outspoken opponent like Curtis’ teammate, Strickland, Hermansson managed to keep his calm.
For his next time out, Hermansson just hopes to put on a better-received show for the fans.
“Never,” Hermansson said when asked if he’d ever directed that particular insult at an opponent. “And I don’t get emotional when fighting at all, and I would never do it. But it was more that he flipped his finger at me — that’s what made me mad, not the fight itself. So the fight itself would never create those kinds of feelings with me, but if somebody is disrespectful, that can make me mad.
“After the fight, I was a little bit disappointed,” he concluded. “I didn’t think it was a very crowd-pleasing fight, but now getting some distance from it, I’m very happy because we prepared for a fight like that.”
For complete UFC London results and coverage click here.