Chris Curtis had a significant win at UFC 297, even though he didn’t emerge victorious against all odds.
This past Saturday’s three-round fight between Curtis and Marc-Andre Barrio in Toronto showcased the “Action Man” and his opponent engaging in a strategic striking battle that occasionally drew boos. Curtis ultimately secured a split decision victory, breaking a three-fight winless streak, but the moment was somewhat overshadowed by the critical reception of the bout.
What troubled Curtis the most were the comments from analysts Dominick Cruz and Daniel Cormier. Curtis expressed his frustration with the lack of constructive criticism from them.
“Every time I fight, DC and Dominick Cruz give me a hard time,” Curtis said. MMA hour. “Whatever happens is fine. DC was nicer than before, but Dominick Cruz was like, ‘It’s like we’re sparring,’ blah blah blah.” Brother, [Barriault is] A solid man. He got knocked out once and I got knocked out once too. It’s not easy to defeat your opponent. I hit him with the horrible words I used to put people down, and he just watched. I elbow him a few times and I go to move and he just stares at me like I’m back there. I once heard Dominic Cruz say, “It’s like a sparring match,” which is not crazy, but people take the commentary at face value, and now… I’ve heard that “he didn’t even fight hard.” . It was a low energy sparring match. ” Stand in front of me and let me hit you the same way.
“Marc-Andre Barrio is a tough tank. The guy was stopped once and that’s why. I don’t know where they found that guy, but he’s a tank. I I hit him with everything and the kitchen sink and he just stood up and kept throwing back. The guy hit me with something so bad and my face still hurts. But Dominic – Cruise’s stupid crap commentary makes it sound like “it’s a sparring match and the volume is low”. So, I’m watching the game with the volume turned down. This is exactly why. ”
A 42-fight professional veteran, Curtis is no stranger to impressive knockout losses, including three of his five wins in the UFC, but he hasn’t brought an opponent within range since December 2022. Never. However, that was just two fights before the UFC. He won the “Fight of the Night” award at 297, losing to Kelvin Gastelum.
Rather than change his style, Curtis welcomes Cruz to one day stand across from him and get a real taste of what he can offer in the hitting department.
“You know what?” said Mr. Curtis. “You can’t win to save your life. ‘Oh, he’s underpowered.’ I did more than him and threw more punches in this fight than I did against Gastelum, but that The action was praised. I landed 40, 90, and 100-odd punches during the round. However, I don’t think I can make people happy. it’s okay. I’m happy with myself. I did what I wanted to do. I didn’t make the same mistakes over and over again. i am happy. Sure, I can always do better, but I’m proud of what I did and I’m sorry if the fans didn’t like it. It’s a professional fight.
“But I laughed again when I saw people talking about it. [Sean] Strickland Doricus [du Plessis] Fight. “They’re just throwing sloppy punches” Well, apparently Sean and Drikas are throwing big, sloppy power punches with no technique, but according to Dominick Cruz and the internet now. Everyone’s just fixated on the commentators, so it’s like, ‘Oh,’ we’re just sparring.’
“Dominic Cruz, Dominic Cruz, let’s stand here and let me hit him like I was hitting him and see if it’s just sparring. No, we’re big and solid. Two men who did. I promise you, I was hitting him hard, he was hitting me hard, I’ve felt it since the fight. [Cruz] “It’s like sparring,” he said. I just thought, “Oh my god, this story is amazing.” So I’m proud of myself, and I’m very proud of myself. ”
