Chris Curtis opened up about his recent public feud with teammate and former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland.
UFC middleweights Chris Curtis and Sean Strickland were nearly inseparable earlier in their fighting careers. But this past year, things took a bizarre turn after a gym incident involving Strickland and Curtis led to their friendship publicly falling apart.
According to Strickland, things with Curtis became tense after Curtis reportedly wanted to team up with him in a light sparring session at Xtreme Couture. Strickland, who is notorious for his stubborn spars in the gym, turned down Curtis' offer and then roasted him on his X account.
What followed was the social media back and forth between Strickland and Curtis on the platform. At one point, Curtis allegedly blocked Strickland on the social media website after Strickland repeatedly took personal shots at him.
After things seemed mended between Strickland and Curtis in a recent Christmas photo, Curtis was asked about Strickland in a recent interview ahead of UFC Vegas 101.
Photos by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Chris Curtis gives an honest assessment of the recent relationship with Sean Strickland
During a recent interview with MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn, Curtis shared an update on where things stand between him and Strickland ahead of their upcoming fights.
“I never left the gym, Sean and I fight a lot,” Curtis said. “When you know someone for so long, you're going to experience some friction. You know how to get under each other's skin. We have had words and fist fights several times. It will always remain that way. We are very different personalities with very different beliefs and boundaries.
“We've both crossed those boundaries much more often than most people. So it's going to happen, it's just part of the game.”
Curtis will face talented striker Roman Kopylov this Saturday at UFC Vegas 101 on the promotion's first card of the year. He returns to the Octagon after a close loss to Brendan Allen last April.
Next month it will be Strickland's turn to step up when he takes on UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis in the UFC 312 main event in Australia. Despite initial hesitation to accept another fight in Australia, Strickland gets his chance for revenge after losing to du Plessis at UFC 297.
Sean Strickland and Chris Curtis patch things up ahead of the upcoming fights
Strickland will likely be in Curtis' corner for his fight this weekend in Las Vegas. Curtis is looking to get back in the win column and get his first win since defeating Marc-Andre Barriault via split decision at UFC 297.
Strickland earned another middleweight title after a decision victory over Paulo Costa at UFC 302. He lost to du Plessis in their first fight via split decision in one of the most closely contested fights of 2024.
Curtis and Strickland face crucial fights to kick off 2025. After the start of the new year, it appears that Curtis and Strickland have turned over a new leaf following their public banter.
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