5 Defining Moments: Chris Curtis

If Chris Curtis keeps knocking off UFC middleweights the way he has, he may need to swap out his “Action Man” moniker for “Cinderella Man.”

For the first full decade of his professional career, the Cincinnati, Ohio, native seemed to be the very definition of an exciting regional fighter: an aggressive welterweight who racked up a prodigious tally of knockouts against journeyman foes, but usually came up just a bit short whenever he took a step up in competition. After a rough three-fight skid in the 2019 Professional Fighters League, Curtis’ aspirations of sticking in a major organization - and perhaps his career - appeared to be over.

Instead, Curtis went back to the Midwest, moved up to middleweight, and strung together enough wins to earn a short-notice call-up to fight at UFC 268 last November. The rest is history, as Curtis has dispatched three very credible middleweights in eight months to advance into the 185-pound rankings, with a chance to make it four straight against Jack Hermansson at UFC Fight Night 208 in London on Saturday.

As the onetime journeyman prepares to try and parlay his feel-good story into actual title contender status, let us examine some of the moments that have defined Curtis’ career.

1. Still Got Your Number, Nah-Shon

The first time Curtis and Nah-Shon Burrell fought, it was both men’s third professional bout, and Curtis prevailed by decision in a hard-fought bout between two prospects on the rise. By the time they met again five and a half years later, it was Burrell who had fulfilled at least some of that prospect promise, piling up a respectable body of work in next-level shows including Strikeforce, Bellator MMA and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. If he hoped to use Curtis as a springboard back to the big leagues, however, he would be disappointed. Their rematch, on April Fools’ Day 2016, was to have been for Curtis’ CES welterweight belt—until Burrell missed weight. The two put on another lively scrap, and Curtis would once again have his hand raised. It was enough to draw the attention of the sport’s biggest promoter.

2. Right Contender, Wrong Tuesday Night

The win over Burrell led to a call from Dana White's Contender Series, at that time entering its second season. “The Action Man” did his level best to impress the boss, blasting Sean Lally with a hook kick in the third round for a TKO win. On the Contender Series as it exists today, where upwards of 50% of winners earn contracts, he would have been a shoo-in, but in Season 2 the general rule was still “one signing per week.” On a night that Greg Hardy couldn’t even get signed after flattening Austen Lane in under a minute, thanks to Alonzo Menifield’s eight-second massacre of Dashawn Boatwright, Curtis didn’t stand a chance.

3. I Bet I’ll See You in the Big Leagues

Curtis’ next brush with a major promotion came in 2019 when he was invited to join the Professional Fighters League for its second season. He impressed in his regular-season debut, laying a beating for two rounds and change on a young Portuguese boxer before putting him away by third-round TKO. That opponent, Andre Fialho, was on a wandering prospect track of his own, and he arrived in the UFC shortly before Curtis did, where he has established himself as one of the welterweight division’s more exciting up-and-comers.

4. I Quit (Again)

The Fialho knockout would end up as the lone highlight, and in fact the lone win, of Curtis’ PFL run. In the opening round of the playoffs, Curtis was soundly outwrestled by defending champ Magomed Magomedkerimov. It was a virtual replay of their first meeting in the regular season a few months before, and immediately afterward, the discouraged Curtis proclaimed his retirement from fighting. An hour later, Magomedkerimov withdrew from his semifinal due to illness. Curtis de-retired, took Magomedkerimov’s place against Ray Cooper III, and fell to the Hawaiian via second-round knockout. Curtis then promptly retired once more.

5. Outgunning “Megatron”

After the disastrous PFL playoffs, Curtis cooled off, reconsidered his retirement and returned to fighting. After a couple of regional wins, he received an offer from the UFC to fight the middleweight division’s fastest-rising contender, Phil Hawes, on one day’s notice when Hawes’ original opponent, Deron Winn, had to withdraw. Curtis agreed but Hawes refused the last-minute booking, perhaps seeing the massive stylistic difference between Curtis and Winn as a bad risk. The fight was pushed back a month, but Hawes’ instincts were dead right, and perhaps they should have pushed it back further. As a 3-to-1 underdog, Curtis went right after the visibly larger “Megatron,” and after several wild back-and-forth exchanges on the feet, knocked him out with a volley of punches and knees. Hawes’ seven-fight win streak was over, but for Curtis the fun had just begun.