Curtis claims two spies that were training at his gym have now flown home to Kopylov’s camp to spill whatever intel they gathered on him.
After arriving in the UFC and going on a three fight win streak, things were looking pretty good for “Action Man” Chris Curtis. The road has gotten a bit rockier over the past two years as he’s gone 2-3-1, finishing 2024 with a fight withdrawal due to a broken foot.
Now “Action Man” looks to get back to his winning ways on the first UFC card of 2025, UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Ribas 2. He’ll face Roman Kopylov in a fight that have bookies betting on Kopylov at -250 to +200 odds. As if that wasn’t worrisome enough, now Chris believes Roman sent spies into XTreme Couture to scope out his moves.
“Couple weeks ago, two Russians show up looking to be a part of the team,” Curtis wrote on his Instagram Stories. “After two weeks they vanish as soon as Kopylov comes to town and are now training together. Scumbag move, Kopylov.”
ChRiS iS BiTcHiNg https://t.co/8XeDrQo75O pic.twitter.com/3KbfsyVpMw
— baby mf’ing goose (@babygoosemma) December 26, 2024
The current MMA landscape is so concentrated that it’s not unusual for fighters or coaches to track down guys who used to train with their opponents in order to get intel. In some instances, they’ll get people who are still in their opponent’s gym to feed them information. But to send guys in with the intention of training with your opponent and then joining your camp? That’s next level (if it’s true).
XTreme Couture is one of the more open gyms out there. Show up with pro credentials and there’s a decent chance you could be getting punched upside the head by Sean Strickland. There’s advantages to that format … and disadvantages, as Chris Curtis is learning.
Or maybe this is just the modern world of MMA? Everyone is training everywhere, everyone knows everything about everyone, and keeping secrets is nearly impossible.
Curtis vs. Kopylov goes down at the (fully armed and operational) UFC Apex on January 11th. Also featured: a rematch between Mackenzie Dern and Amanda Ribas, plus Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Carlston Harris. No word on if Mark Zuckerberg is renting the whole place again like a creepy weirdo.