Chris Curtis’ right eye was in bad shape after an accidental headbutt at UFC 289.
Curtis’ (30-10 MMA, 4-2 UFC) featured middleweight prelim against Nassourdine Imavov (12-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) this past Saturday at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, was ruled a no contest after a clash of heads rendered him unable to continue. The collision, which took place midway through Round 2, caused a cut above Curtis’ right eye.
Curtis tried his best to clear his eye with a towel so he could continue fighting, but when he told doctors he still couldn’t see, referee Jason Herzog waved the fight off. A disappointed Curtis took to Twitter to reveal the damage done to his eye.
“10 stitches and a possible Corneal Abrasion. In 40 fights I’ve never not been able to continue. I’m genuinely sorry guys. I really wanted to do something special for Canada. I’ll be back guys.”
10 stitches and a possible Corneal Abrasion. In 40 fights I've never not been able to continue. I'm genuinely sorry guys. I really wanted to do something special for Canada. I'll be back guys. pic.twitter.com/T8W2luL32d
— Chris Curtis The Action Man (@Actionman513) June 11, 2023
Curtis, who faced a similar scenario in a fight with Kelvin Gastelum, was confused why he wasn’t given five minutes to recover after Herzog called a timeout.
“So tonight we learned that headbutts and head clashes are treated in fundamentally different ways. There is no mandatory allowance for head clashes. I thought it was the same 5 minutes? Learn something new everyday day. Regardless I have never not been able to continue in 40 fights, I’ve been cut, I’ve been rocked and I’ve been hurt in fights. But losing my vision and not immediately getting it back is something new to me. As much as I want to fight on I just thought I had a little more time to let my eye clear.”
Fights, I've been cut, I've been rocked and I've been hurt in fights. But losing my vision and not immediately getting it back is something new to me. As much as I want to fight on I just thought I had a little more time to let my eye clear.
— Chris Curtis The Action Man (@Actionman513) June 11, 2023
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 289.
