Chris Curtis fought Nassourdine Imavov in the preliminary main event of UFC 289. Curtis was coming off a decision loss to Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 287. So it was quite a short turnaround for him and his opponent was the highly-rated Nassourdine Imavov. It does not seem like his fortunes were not favoring him at UFC 289 either as his fight ended with an accidental head clash.
As per UFC stats, Imavov was dominating the contest with some amazing stats. Imavov, who was coming off a loss against Sean Strickland, was desperate to get back to the winning column. He attempted 86 total strikes, out of which 84 were significant ones, and landed 57 of them. On top of that, he also secured 3 takedowns in total out of 4 attempted and had a control time of 2:22 minutes.
Our Featured Prelim’s over early.
— UFC (@ufc) June 11, 2023
It will be ruled a no contest due to an accidental clash of heads #UFC289 pic.twitter.com/YOyydQ0lGw
Curtis, on the other hand, landed only 26 significant strikes and only 34 strikes in total till the bout lasted. However, the fight was stopped at the 3:04 minute mark of the second round when the two fighters had an unfortunate clash of heads. From the replays, it was clear that the head clash was unintentional and purely accidental. The clash cut Curtis’ eye open and the referee Jason Herzog ultimately decided to end the bout.
Fans react to the stoppage between Chris Curtis and Nassourdine Imavov at UFC 289
Due to the referee’s stoppage, the bout ultimately was adjourned to a no-contest. However, judging by Chris Curtis’ reaction, it did look like he was desperate to continue. But, the cut on his eye was too damaging and Curtis could not ultimately continue. The 35-year-old wanted more time to potentially recover and continue fighting. But unfortunately for Curtis, he could not be given any more time.
Chris Curtis was pleading for the fight to continue. Warrior. #UFC289 pic.twitter.com/SQjCfuZAqI
— UFC (@ufc) June 11, 2023
Chris Curtis has had some high-profile mishaps recently. In his last 4 fights, Chris is 2-2, with losses against Gastelum and Jack Hermansson. On top of that, fans were extremely displeased with his performance against Hermansson. Hence, the head clash and the subsequent no-contest are also earning him a lot of criticism from the fans. However, there are also fans and pundits who are empathetic toward him.
Here are some reactions on the matter
No contest for unintentional head butt?
— Honest Khabib Fan (@TheSuperstarUFC) June 11, 2023
Imavov was dominating the fight, so Chris Curtis chose to quit.☝🏻#UFC289 pic.twitter.com/1r3geGAnr4
Dricus Du Plessis after a freaking blood-bath war against Tavares. 🇿🇦👑
— 28 DAYS UNTIL DRICUS SLEEPS ROB 🇿🇦 (@JustinHerronUFC) June 11, 2023
Chris Curtis after a headbutt, sitting in the corner crying. 👶🍼
Some men aren’t built for this. #UFC289 pic.twitter.com/OoFXFYaUoU
Chris Curtis is a dawg. Got rocked by the headbutt, got a huge cut over his eye, and wanted to keep going. 🐺 @Actionman513 pic.twitter.com/3l9MBEHjy1
— KYLE🇧🇷🇺🇸 (@kyle_inacio) June 11, 2023
I hate that for Chris Curtis man.. ANOTHER cut messing with his fights.#UFC289
— Wade Plem (@WadePlem) June 11, 2023
Really tough break for Chris Curtis. Jason Herzog is an excellent ref and he did everything he could and should have done in that situation. But it’s a bummer nonetheless. #UFC289
— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) June 11, 2023
Chris Curtis is one of the coolest people I’ve ever had the chance of interviewing. You gotta feel for him, man.
— Damien Bartonek 🇺🇦 (@DABartonek) June 11, 2023
Back to back fights with BRUTAL headbutts
This is where I wish I wasn’t blocked by Chris Curtis cause his Twitter rant bout to be crazy 😂 #UFC289
— Jason Williams (@jasoneg33) June 11, 2023
he was getting schooled anyway now he gets no contest instead of L
— KSI Fandom (@JJtheGoatKSIfan) June 11, 2023
Judging by the reaction of his supporters, it does seem like Chris Curtis is a lovely person. However, the fight game is a brutal one and the recent results may put his job in danger. So what did you think of the contest? Let us know in the comments down below.