Accidental Headbutt Led to 10 Stitches, Possible Corneal Abrasion for Chris Curtis

It was probably a good thing that Chris Curtis wasn’t allowed to continue in his middleweight clash with Nassourdine Imavov at UFC 289.

“The Action Man” suffered a significant cut near his right eye following a clash of heads with his opponent in the second round of their preliminary bout in Vancouver on Saturday. After a brief pause, it was determined that Curtis couldn’t continue and the fight was ruled a no contest at the 3:04 mark of Round 2.

Curtis later revealed the extent of his injuries on social media.

“[Ten] stitches and a possible corneal abrasion,” Curtis wrote on Twitter. “In 40 fights I've never not been able to continue. I'm genuinely sorry guys. I really wanted to do something special for Canada. I'll be back guys.”

10 stitches and a possible Corneal Abrasion. In 40 fights I've never not been able to continue. I'm genuinely sorry guys. I really wanted to do something special for Canada. I'll be back guys. pic.twitter.com/T8W2luL32d

— Chris Curtis The Action Man (@Actionman513) June 11, 2023

It was the second consecutive fight for Curtis in which a clash of heads altered the course of the bout. At UFC 287, Kelvin Gastelum nearly finished their fight following the collision in Round 2, though Curtis would ultimately go on to lose a unanimous decision. At UFC 289, Curtis wanted more time to recover but wasn’t given that option by referee Jason Herzog.

“So tonight we learned that headbutts and head clashes are treated in fundamentally different ways,” Curtis wrote. “There is no mandatory allowance for head clashes. I thought it was the same [five] minutes? Learn something new every day. Regardless I have never not been able to continue in 40 fights. I’ve been cut, I’ve been rocked and I’ve been hurt in fights. But losing my vision and not immediately getting it back is something new to me. As much as I want to fight on I just thought I had a little more time to let my eye clear.”

After breakthrough stretch in which he won eight consecutive fights — including three in UFC competition — from January 2020 to June 2022, Curtis has just one win in his last three promotional appearances.