The UFC 289 featured prelim bout ended in unfortunate fashion.
Midway through Round 2 of Chris Curtis vs. Nassourdine Imavov, the middleweight fight was deemed a no contest due to an accidental clash of heads at 3:04 of Round 2.
The fight Saturday at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
The fight-ending collision took place midway through Round 2. Imavov (12-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC), after a successful round-and-a-half in his favor, accidentally drove his head above the right eye of Curtis (30-10 MMA, 4-2 UFC) while the two fighters were against the cage. The clash split open Curtis and caused referee Jason Herzog to call a timeout.
As the doctors examined Curtis, the fighter repeatedly said he couldn’t see out of his eye. Even though Curtis begged Herzog not to stop the fight, the referee said he needed an immediate answer about whether or not it was OK to resume the action. When Curtis did not say he was ready to continue, Herzog waved off the bout.
Both fighters were visibly disappointed, particularly Curtis, who encountered a similar scenario in his previous fight against Kelvin Gastelum in April.
Chris Curtis was pleading for the fight to continue. Warrior. #UFC289 pic.twitter.com/SQjCfuZAqI
— UFC (@ufc) June 11, 2023
The up-to-the-minute UFC 289 results include:
- Chris Curtis vs. Nassourdine Imavov ends in no contest (accidental clash of heads) – Round 2, 3:04
- Jasmine Jasudavicius def. Miranda Maverick via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Aiemman Zahabi def. Aori Qileng via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:04
- Kyle Nelson def. Blake Bilder via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Stephen Erceg def. David Dvorak via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Diana Belbita def. Maria Oliveira via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 289.
