Christopher Alan Curtis (born July 15, 1987) is an American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

currently competing in the middleweight division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC). A professional since 2009, he has also competed for the

Professional Fighters League The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promo ...

(PFL). As of December 13, 2022, he is #14 in the UFC middleweight rankings.

Background

Curtis was born and grew up in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...

. He has a sister and a brother. Despite aspirations of becoming a lawyer, he dropped out of the

law school A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

in pursuit of a career in mixed martial arts.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Curtis amassed a record of 18–5 in the North American regional circuit while capturing Welterweight Championships in CES MMA, Z Promotions and Premier MMA Championship.

Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series and first retirement

Curtis was then invited to face Sean Lally at Dana White's Contender Series 9 on June 12, 2018. He won the fight via third-round knockout but retired after he was not awarded a UFC contract. Curtis would however return to fight for the vacant Z Promotions Middleweight title against Matt Dwyer on January 21, 2019, winning the bout via majority decision.

Professional Fighters League

On April 1, 2019, it was revealed that Curtis would be participating PFL 2019 season in the welterweight division. He was initially set to face PFL Season 2018 Middleweight Champion

Louis Taylor Louis Taylor (born May 12, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the welterweight division of the Professional Fighters League. A professional competitor since 2007, Taylor has also formerly competed for Strikeforce ...

at PFL 1 on May 9, 2019. However, Taylor was not able to get medically cleared and had to withdraw from the season, subsequently being replaced by André Fialho. Curtis won the bout via third-round knockout. In the second regular season bout Curtis faced PFL Season 2018 Welterweight Champion Magomed Magomedkerimov at PFL 4 on July 11, 2019. He lost the fight via unanimous decision but advanced to the playoffs.

Playoffs, second and third retirement

In the quarterfinals Curtis faced Magomedkerimov in a rematch at PFL 7 on October 11, 2019. Again he lost the bout via unanimous decision, was eliminated from the season and retired from the sport. However, after their bout Magomedkerimov fell ill and Curtis ended his retirement by stepping in to replace Magomedkerimov against Ray Cooper III in a semifinal bout. He lost the fight via second-round knockout and retired from the sport once again.

Return from retirement and other organizations

Curtis would, however, quickly return from retirement to defend his Z Promotions title in January 2020, defeating Darren Smith Jr. via corner stoppage at the end of the fourth. On April 14, 2020, it was announced that Curtis had came out of retirement and signed a multi-fight contract with ARES FC. He was scheduled to make his promotional debut against

Nassourdine Imavov Nasourdin Abdoulazimovitch Imavov (born March 1, 1995) is a French mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of April 11, 2023, he is #12 in the UFC middleweight rankings. Backgrou ...

at ARES FC 2 on April 3, 2020. However, the event was postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

to take place on October 30, 2020, before being cancelled altogether. Curtis was scheduled to face

Austin Vanderford Austin Vanderford (born March 21, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist, currently signed to Bellator MMA where he competes in the Middleweight division. As of February 7, 2023, he is #6 in the Bellator Middleweight Rankings. ...

on November 5, 2020 at Bellator 251. However, Curtis had to pull out of the bout due to a positive COVID test and was replaced by Vinicius de Jesus. Curtis faced Kyle Stewart on January 30, 2021 at XMMA 1. He won the bout via TKO in the third round. After winning the next two bouts against Juan Ramon Grano Medina at iKon Fighting Federation 6 via first round TKO and Jarome Hatch at Fierce FC 15 via TKO stoppage in the third, Curtis faced

Kenny Robertson Kenneth Duane Robertson (born February 14, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist. A professional mixed martial artist since 2008, he has also competed for the UFC and Bellator. Before MMA In high school he wrestled for Metamora Township H ...

on July 30, 2021 at XMMA 2. He won the bout via unanimous decision.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Curtis was briefly expected to replace Deron Winn against

Phil Hawes Phillip Nicholas Fitzgerald Hawes (born January 8, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Hawes started out as a standout wrestler, winning a national ...

on day's notice at

UFC on ESPN 26 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

on October 9, 2021, but Hawes ultimately declined the bout. Nevertheless, the bout was later rebooked to take place at

UFC 268 ''UFC 268: Usman vs. Covington 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 6, 2021, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, United States. Background A UFC Welterweig ...

on November 6, 2021. Curtis won the fight via first-round knockout. Replacing

Roman Dolidze Roman Dolidze (born July 15, 1988) is a Georgian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Middleweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2016, Dolidze was the former World Warriors Fig ...

on short notice, Curtis faced

Brendan Allen Brendan Allen (born December 28, 1995) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional since 2015, he has also competed for the Legacy Fighting Alliance ...

on December 4, 2021 at UFC on ESPN: Font vs. Aldo. He won the fight via technical knockout in round two. The win earned him a ''Performance of the Night'' bonus award. Curtis was then expected to face Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 273 on April 9, 2022. However, Curtis withdrew from the bout due to a wrist injury and was replaced by

Anthony Hernandez Anthony Hernandez (born October 18, 1993) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2014, he has also competed with Globa ...

. Curtis then faced

Rodolfo Vieira Rodolfo Vieira Srour (born September 25, 1989 in Rio de Janeiro) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he competes in the middleweight division. Vie ...

at UFC on ESPN: Tsarukyan vs. Gamrot on June 25, 2022. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Curtis faced

Jack Hermansson Jack Berndhard Hermansson (born 10 June 1988) is a Swedish and Norwegian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is the former middleweight champion ...

on July 23, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 208, replacing the injured

Darren Till Darren Till (born 24 December 1992) is an English professional mixed martial artist and former Muay Thai fighter. He currently competes in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of December 13, 2022, he is #1 ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Curtis faced

Joaquin Buckley Joaquin Yuconri Buckley (born April 27, 1994) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2014, he has also formerly competed for Bellator M ...

on December 10, 2022 at UFC 282. He won the fight via technical knockout in round two. Curtis is scheduled to face Kelvin Gastelum on April 8, 2023, at UFC 287.

Personal life

Curtis has a son from a previous relationship.

Championships and achievements

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

(Two times) * CES MMA **CES MMA Welterweight Championship (one time; former) ***Two successful title defenses *Z Promotions **Z Promotions Welterweight Championship (one time; former) ***One successful title defense **Z Promotions Middleweight Championship (one time; former) *Premier MMA Championship **PMMAC Welterweight Championship (one time; former) *

MMAjunkie.com MMA Junkie is a news website that covers the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It was founded in 2006, and is owned by Gannett Company since 2011. The site and its content have been featured in ''Time'' magazine'', ''ESPN The Magazine'', ''The N ...

**2021 Comeback Fighter of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

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Belal Muhammad Belal Muhammad (born July 9, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who is currently competing in the UFC welterweight division. A professional since 2012, he has also competed for Bellator and Titan FC. As of October 24, 2022, he is #4 ...

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Forrest Petz Forrest Leonard Petz (born September 22, 1975) is a retired American mixed martial artist. A professional from 2002 until 2013, he is perhaps best known for his two stints in the UFC, but also fought for King of the Cage and Adrenaline MMA. Back ...

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Professional boxing record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Curtis, Chris 1987 births Living people Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling American male mixed martial artists American male boxers American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters