Returning to action at UFC 273 will be “The Action Man” himself, Chris Curtis, fresh off two upset victories starting with his promotional debut last year.
Chris Curtis had six victories in 2021, an impressive feat regardless of what promotion you’re fighting in. But in this case, the numbers don’t tell the full story.
A longtime veteran of mixed martial arts, Curtis (28-8) faced two really tough opponents to start his UFC career, and upset both of them on short notice. When he finally returns at UFC 273 in April, it will have been almost four months in between fights for Curis— which seems like a long time for him. Cageside Press caught up with Curtis recently, and asked what he’d been doing in the time since he last fight.
“I went to Turkey after my last fight. Spent three weeks out there, that was really fun,” Curtis told us. “First vacation I ever had as an adult and professional fighter. Came back and got right back to it, one of the coolest places I’ve even been.”
Curtis will take on another tough challenger in Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 273 on April 9th. The fight was put together pretty quickly. What started as a gentleman’s agreement on social media became a fight in reality rather quickly.
“I wanted to get a fight in, and I didn’t know who to fight,” Curtis recalled. “I had like seven people saying ‘hey, you and Dricus would be a great fight.’ I was like, I have no idea who Dricus is because I don’t follow fighting the way I use to.” Despite that, Curtis threw caution to the wind. “You know what, screw it, I’ll fight Dricus. I googled him and saw some cool knockouts. I tweeted ‘hey man, do you want to fight?’ He was like sure. Then [Mick] Maynard [UFC matchmaker] was like ‘done!'”
Curtis shared he trains every camp the exact same way. “There’s always things I can work on. There’s stuff we’re always trying to improve on. I have my same coaches. I have the same conditioning program. I know what works for me.”
Tune into UFC 273 on April 9th to watch a fight that should be absolute fireworks, in a fight that could very well generate a Performance bonus for either man.
Watch our full interview with UFC 273’s Chris Curtis above. The event takes place Saturday, April 9, 2022 at the Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.
