Chris Curtis has been sucking on a lot of sour grapes following his loss to Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 287 last weekend.
‘The Action Man’ squared off with the one-time interim title challenger in the evening’s featured prelim bout. The pair did not disappoint, delivering a Fight of the Year contender that scored both men a $50,000 performance bonus. Despite his newfound wealth, Curtis was far from content after Gastelum had his hand raised via a unanimous decision.
Appearing on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Curtis discussed his dismay over the defeat, specifically taking issue with a second-round accidental headbutt by Gastelum during the fight that he believes changed the course of the contest.
“I heard stories this entire camp. ‘Is Kelvin back?’ Blah, blah, blah. Everyone talking about, ‘Oh, he’s saying the right things. He’s in a good place.’ Blah, blah, blah. The bullsh*t continues, then after the fight, I’ve got the hear, ‘That was prime Kelvin. That was Kelvin as good as he was when he fought Izzy.’ I’m like, ‘Cool, but I’m better than you that night.’ He came out and he looked great,” Curtis admitted. “He came out and he was more athletic than I thought he was going to be. He was faster. He was stronger. He felt great, but I was better and I’m never going to get the recognition for that because of a headbutt.
“Fine. I’ll accept that people are going to feel a certain way. Run it back and I’ll beat you again. I could’ve fought this weekend,” Curtis continued. “Like, let’s go fight in Nashville. Let’s do it again because I’ll beat you again. Because everyone’s saying, ‘Oh, he’s gonna be back in line with Izzy.’ That’s cool, but I deserve that place. I’m as good as you. I beat you that night and I refuse to sit here and act like I didn’t.”
Chris Curtis: Run it back and I'll beat you again.#TheMMAHour pic.twitter.com/Ty3V2uxOWG
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) April 12, 2023
Chris Curtis Tells Kelvin Gastelum to ‘Be a Man’ and Run It Back
Kelvin Gastelum’s win over Chris Curtis snapped a streak that saw the California native drop five of his last six inside the Octagon. As a result, Gastelum moved up four spots in the middleweight rankings, now sitting at the No. 11 while ‘The Action Man’ slid one spot down to No. 15.
“That should be my ranking,” Curtis said. “That should be my spot and if I’ve gotta beat you again to do it, I’ll do it. I don’t care. I was in the gym on Monday. He was probably off eating burritos, doing whatever the f*ck Kelvin Gastelum does. That’s fine, but I’m still going to be a professional because I didn’t f*ck around for I don’t know how many years, not be able to diet. Not be disciplined. Not do everything else. I’ve worked every day for 15 years and I’ll show you that doing well for one camp isn’t going to be enough to override the work I’ve done.
“You got gifted that one. I’ll do it again. It doesn’t matter. Either make it a no-contest and say screw it or be a man and do it again. He knows. Be a man and do it again.”
Three days removed from the defeat, Curtis revealed that he would be filing an appeal with the state athletic commission in an effort to overturn the decision based on the second-round headbutt that seemingly went unnoticed by the presiding referee.
I don't know man. Filing an appeal now so that's my main focus
— Chris Curtis The Action Man (@Actionman513) April 11, 2023
