Since joining the UFC in 2021, middleweight fighter Chris Curtis has been the true definition of a company man, but there was one occasion where he turned down a big opportunity.
When Chris Curtis made his UFC debut at UFC 268, fans had high hopes for 'The Action Man' after he scored a huge KO against Phil Hawes.
The 37-year-old went on to rack up a few more wins and eventually found himself in the top 15 of the 185-pound rankings.
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Chris Curtis turned down a fight against Alex Pereira
At a time when the Xtreme Couture product was climbing the rankings, Brazilian kickboxer Alex Pereira was also turning heads in the 185lb division.
Curtis will make his return this Saturday at UFC Vegas 101 after a long break due to a foot injury against Roman Kopylov.
While under the UFC banner, Curtis prides himself on being a fighter who will fight anyone and challenge himself against the best, but has admitted that he has in fact turned down a fight against 'Poatan'.
“Normally I don't say no, unless your name is Alex Pereira, then I definitely said no,” Curtis told MMAJunkie.
“Outside of that, I'm just here to fight people. So whatever comes up, comes up. I just want to have fun fights,” he continued.
'The Action Man' explained that he was offered the fight against the former middleweight champion in 2022 right after Pereira's victory over Bruno Silva and even though 'Poatan' was in his second year in the promotion, he managed to stay away.
“They offered me that fight before Bruno Silva, the Bruno Silva fight, or maybe it's the one that Sean (Strickland) took and they offered it to us first. I was like, 'F*** no. I'm not going to fight him anytime soon.” I thought, 'That's not possible.' Because not only do I not want to fight him, I'm not doing it anytime soon.
“I say yes to every fight except that one. I was like, 'I don't have a path to victory here, I'm fine.'
Chris Curtis is hoping for a fight rescheduling against Kevin Holland
The outspoken UFC middleweight was scheduled to face fellow loudmouth Kevin Holland at UFC 307 last October, but his aforementioned foot injury forced him out of the fight.
Ahead of his clash with Kopylov, Curtis has admitted he would like his fight against the Netherlands to be rebooked if 'The Trailblazer' can beat Reinier de Ridder at UFC 311.
“I don't care about any particular match… I like Kevin. I hope he wins. If they put it back together, great. If not, whatever. I'm just here to fight people,” he continued.
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