London, UK – UFC middleweight Jack Hermansson earned a decision victory over Chris Curtis at UFC London on Saturday night. What fight fans, and Curtis, are frustrated with is how the fight played out.
“I thought that we might have to do a different fight. I knew that it was going to be hard to get Chris Curtis down on the ground. He has a really good sprawl and takedown defense. So I understood that I could work a little bit more from the outside in this one,” Hermansson told Cageside Press among other media at his post-fight scrum.
During the fight Curtis was visibly upset with Hermansson for what he viewed as his him refusing to engage with him.
“I think he got a little bit frustrated with me moving and moving and moving. I just tried to stay disciplined and stay to my plan. I could see the frustration in him,” Hermansson said.
Following the bout the two had a visibly tense exchange with Curtis offering double middle finger in the style of Nate Diaz.
“I can’t remember but he was like taunting me. Then something slipped from my tongue. I’m a little bit disappointed with myself there that I got caught up in that because I’m all about sportsmanship. I want the sport to be clean and after the fight we should be be good friends,” said Hermansson.
“So I really apologize to Chris Curtis for that.”
Curtis was a late-replacement opponent after Darren Till was forced to pull out of the fight with an injury. Trying to book the bout with Till again is something Hermansson is wary about.
“Of course the fight interests me. It’s a great fight, and I think Darren is a great opponent that has a lot of fans. He’s a fan-favorite, but it’s a little bit scary to book up against him for the third time, you know,” Hermansson explained with a chuckle.
“The third time is a charm so maybe.”
Hermansson called to be booked for the next UFC card in Sweden and is really hoping he’ll get a call from the UFC with an opponent in mind.
“I would love to be on that card. I want to fight somebody in the rankings for my next one, you know, continue to climb up towards that big goal,” he said.
“I would love to fight somebody that I (haven’t) fought. I’ve fought a lot of guys already inside those rankings. So somebody I haven’t fought. We’ve got Paulo Costa, we’ve got Rob Whittaker, two names I haven’t fought.”
Watch the full UFC London post-fight press scrum with Jack Hermansson above.
