It may have been a good thing Chris Curtis wasn’t allowed to continue with his middleweight bout with Nasuradin Imamov at UFC 289.
The “Man of Action” sustained a major gash near his right eye after a head-on collision with his opponent in the second round of their preliminary match in Vancouver on Saturday. After a short pause, it was determined that Curtis could not continue and the fight was ruled a no contest at the 3:04 mark of the second round.
Curtis later revealed the extent of his injuries on social media.
“[Ten] Curtis wrote on Twitter. “In 40 fights I haven’t been able to continue. I’m really sorry guys. I really wanted to do something special for Canada. I’ll be back, guys.”
10 stitches and possible corneal abrasion. In 40 fights I couldn’t keep up. I’m really sorry guys. I really wanted to do something special for Canada. I will be back guys. pic.twitter.com/T8W2luL32d
– Chris Curtis The Action Man (@ Actionman513)
June 11, 2023
This was Curtis’ second straight fight in which a clash of heads changed the course of the match. At UFC 287, Kelvin Gastelum nearly ended his fight after colliding in the second round, though Curtis would eventually lose a unanimous decision. At UFC 289, Curtis wanted more time to recover but was not given that option by referee Jason Herzog.
“Tonight we learned that head ties and head engagements are handled in radically different ways,” Curtis wrote. “There is no mandatory allowance for head clashes. I thought it was the same thing
[five] minutes? Learn something new every day. Regardless, I was never able to last 40 fights. I’ve been cut, I’ve been hurt and I’ve been hurt in battle. But losing my vision and not getting it back right away is something new to me. As much as I want to fight, I just thought I had more time to let my eyes clear.”
After a breakout stretch in which he won eight straight fights – including three in UFC competition – from January 2020 to June 2022, Curtis has only one win in his last three promotional fights.