Tag: Chris Curtis

Making a short notice co-headlining appearance next weekend, Chris Curtis has revealed the middleweight contender he is replacing; Darren Till – will feature in his corner for his UFC London showdown against Jack Hermansson.

Replacing the injured Till on just over two weeks’ notice, Ohio native, Curtis attempts to land the most high-profile victory of his Octagon tenure to date – drawing the #8 ranked contender, Hermansson at The O2 Arena in the English capital. 

Chris Curtis has landed three straight victories since a November UFC bow

Last time out, Curtis improved to 3-0 since his November Octagon bow at Madison Square Garden, outlasting Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace, Rodolfo Vieira over the course of three rounds to land a unanimous decision victory at UFC Vegas 57 at the end of last month. 

Prior to his win against Vieira, Curtis had stopped the highly-touted, Brendan Allen, as well as Dana White’s Contender Series alum, Phil Hawes with strikes – with the Syndicate MMA trainee improving his winning spree to eight straight fights.

Revealing his past relationship with one-time UFC welterweight title challenger, Till, Curtis confirmed that the Team Kaobon staple, as well as PFL mainstay, Brendan Loughnane will join him in his corner, alongside head coach, Eric Nicksick.

“I’ve known Darren Till for a little bit – we’ve trained together,” Chris Curtis told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. “Actually, he’s gonna be in the corner, it’s happening.”

“I think I’m going to have my coach, Eric (Nicksick) and Nate (Pettit) – then I’ll have Darren Till and Brendan Loughnane in my corner,” Chris Curtis explained. (Transcribed by Middleeasy)

Facing stiff competition in the form of former Cage Warriors champion and perennial contender, Hermansson, the AllStars MMA staple managed to defeat Edmen Shahbazyan in his most recent professional victory, before suffering a split decision loss against recent UFC 276 feature, Sean Strickland in a February UFC Apex main event bout.

UFC middleweight contender, Darren Till has promised to come back “stronger” following his most recent injury setback, after the Liverpool native was forced to withdraw from a scheduled UFC Fight Night London co-headliner against Jack Hermasson on July 23. in the English capital.

Darren Till, the current #9 ranked middleweight contender, has been sidelined since September of last year where he headlined UFC Vegas 36 against division veteran, Derek Brunson, suffering a rather one-sided third round rear-naked choke submission loss. 

Following the bout, Till’s head coach, Team Kaobon trainer, Colin Heron confirmed that his student had entered the main event clash with Brunson off the back of another knee injury – initially suffered in his July 2020 ‘Fight Island’ defeat to former champion, Robert Whittaker. 

In the time since his defeat in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and before his loss to Brunson, the Liverpool striker had been forced from another slated fight with Hermansson due to another knee injury, while a title-eliminator against Marvin Vettori was shelved after Till fractured his collarbone ahead of the main event ABC matchup. 

Chris Curtis replaces Darren Till on July 23. against Jack Hermansson

Off the back of Till’s withdrawal from his rescheduled matchup with Hermansson, the promotion swiftly moved to replace the Liverpudlian with surging veteran Ohio native, Chris Curtis who fights the #8 ranked Swede in a huge co-main event landing pad. 

Addressing his latest injury setback after a lenghty run of woes, Till shared footage of himself lying in a hospital bed, with nurses and doctors appearing to attend to the striker’s right knee.

“Be back stronger (thumbs up emoji),” Darren Till tweeted. “Thanks for messages of support everyone…” 

In his most recent professional victory, Till managed to defeat one-time interim title challenger, Kelvin Gastelum in his middleweight divisional bow back in November at UFC 244.