Tag: UFC Vegas 90

Exclusive – Chris Curtis’ split decision loss to Brendan Allen came down to ’15 seconds of bad optics’

Exclusive - Chris Curtis' split decision loss to Brendan Allen came down to 15 seconds of bad opticsAfter a 25-minute war with Brendan Allen, Chris Curtis believes his controversial split decision loss came down to 15…

Exclusive - Chris Curtis' split decision loss to Brendan Allen came down to 15 seconds of bad optics

After a 25-minute war with Brendan Allen, Chris Curtis believes his controversial split decision loss came down to 15 seconds of bad optics.

By all accounts, ‘The Action Man’ was on his way to a victory over ‘All In’ in the UFC Vegas 90 headliner. Then suddenly, disaster struck with only seconds on the clock as Curtis suffered an injury to his leg. That allowed Allen to unleash a last-second flurry that likely swayed the decision in his favor.

Chris Curtis

“Optically, I thought there were a lot of exchanges that I was winning,” Curtis said in a LowKick MMA exclusive interview with Mike Owens. “I feel I’m doing more damage. Responding less. I was pushing the fight more. I felt like I was being the aggressor.

“From what I’ve heard from a lot of people is that in the fifth round, I was up. I was winning and when my hamstring went out, it presented a really bad picture. He threw a flurry at the end, but nothing landed. I got hit in the shoulder with a knee. I didn’t get hurt or anything, but from an optics perspective, I’m the guy on the fence surviving now.

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“I think the optics of 15 seconds outdid the 4:45 which kinda sucks,” Curtis added. “It’s not how you want it to go, but you don’t control the judges and the judges are going to default to what they see most of the time. These guys are making what, $300 a f*cking [show]. They’re not experts in this usually. It just sucks, but optics play a huge part and it sucks to lose on 15 seconds of bad optics.”

Chris Curtis

Chris Curtis maintains his top 15 ranking following questionable loss

Instead of moving into the middleweight top ten with a win, Curtis continues to cling to his spot as the No. 14 ranked contender in the division.

‘The Action Man’ also revealed the gruesome details regarding his hamstring injury, including a potential timeline for return, which you can read all about right here.

Watch the full exclusive interview with Chris Curtis below:

Exclusive – Chris Curtis reveals the extent of his hamstring injury, provides timeline for return

Exclusive - Chris Curtis reveals the extent of his hamstring injury, provides timeline for returnChris Curtis’ hamstring is hanging on for dear life. On just two weeks’ notice, ‘The Action Man’ returned to…

Exclusive - Chris Curtis reveals the extent of his hamstring injury, provides timeline for return

Chris Curtis’ hamstring is hanging on for dear life.

On just two weeks’ notice, ‘The Action Man’ returned to the Octagon one week from the promotion’s landmark UFC 300 event in Las Vegas for a Fight Night headliner against rising middleweight contender Brendan Allen.

After a 25-minute war that fans immediately dubbed a Fight of the Year contender, ‘All In’ was declared the victor via a razor-close and highly questionable split decision. Adding insult to injury, Curtis went down in the closing seconds of the fifth round after suffering a hamstring injury.

Chris Curtis

Unable to get back to his feet, Curtis had to be taken out of The APEX on a stretcher.

Speaking with Mike Owens in a LowKick MMA exclusive interview, Chris Curtis revealed that his hamstring had not completely torn off, as originally predicted. Instead, he has multiple tears with about 10% of the tendons still attached. Immediately undergoing therapy, the Cincinnati native offered a timeline for his potential return to the Octagon.

“It looks like I tore my hamstring in two places,” Curtis said. “I’ve got a mid-grade tear and a high-grade tear. We thought originally that I tore it completely off, but it looks like 10% of my hamstring is holding on still like Bruce Willis in Die Hard so shout out to my hamstring for holding it down. We start stem cell therapy today. If everything goes well, we’re looking at five months. If the stem cells don’t take, we may have to do surgery and then eight to nine months.”

Chris Curtis

All things considered, Chris Curtis is still happy with his performance

Despite the injury and the subsequent loss, Chris Curtis is happy with his performance — especially after coming off the couch with just a couple of weeks to prepare and a hell of a sinus infection to boot.

“It’s really a bittersweet thing for me,” Curtis added. “Performance-wise, I’m really happy with myself. We did a lot in two weeks and the worst part of that was probably two days after we took the fight, I got really sick. I am just blowing brown snot and blood out of my nose for a week. I had a really bad sinus infection.”

He continued, “It was a really rough two weeks, but we f*cking pulled through. We sucked it up and I went out there and fought five rounds hard. Honestly, I thought I won it. Looking back on it, I think my hamstring going out in the last 15 seconds kinda swayed it, but I still think I won.”

Brendan Allen celebrating his win over Chris Curtis

With the loss, Curtis fell to 5-3 under the UFC banner, 31-11 overall. Still, Curtis is holding onto his No. 14 spot in the middleweight division’s top 15.

Check out the full exclusive interview with Chris Curtis below:

Brendan Allen bags split decision win in Fight of the Year contender with Chris Curtis – UFC Vegas 90 Highlights

Brendan Allen bags split decision win in Fight of the Year contender with Chris Curtis - UFC Vegas 90 HighlightsBrendan Allen scored a big win and a little redemption in the UFC Vegas 90 headliner on Saturday night….

Brendan Allen bags split decision win in Fight of the Year contender with Chris Curtis - UFC Vegas 90 Highlights

Brendan Allen scored a big win and a little redemption in the UFC Vegas 90 headliner on Saturday night.

After coming up short against Chris Curtis nearly three years ago, ‘All In’ continued his surge up the middleweight rankings. He walked away with a closely contested split decision victory over ‘The Action Man’ in a clash many call a Fight of the Year contender.

Official Result: Brendan Allen def. Chris Curtis via split decision (47-48, 48-47, 49-46)

With the win, Allen has now won his last seven fights inside the Octagon and avenged his last loss under the UFC banner. As for Curtis, ‘The Action Man‘ alternated wins and losses in his last six outings, going 5-3 with 1 no contest in his UFC career.

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Check Out Highlights From Brendan Allen vs. Chris Curtis at UFC Vegas 90: