UFC Vegas 90: Chris Curtis’ manager reveals real reason behind Brendan Allen loss

Brendan Allen’s last defeat in the UFC was against Chris Curtis at UFC Vegas 44 via second-round TKO. Allen’s only other defeat and his first in the UFC was another TKO loss to Curtis’ friend and training partner, Sean Strickland.

Allen avenged the loss to Curtis at UFC Vegas 90 and made it seven in a row with five rear naked choke submission finishes. The reason why Curtis lost the fight remains a mystery until his manager hinted at something unexpected happening behind the scenes.

Brendan Allen defeats Chris Curtis at UFC Vegas 90

Brendan Allen eked past a split decision victory over Chris Curtis in the main event of UFC Vegas 90. Originally scheduled to be a fight between Marvin Vettori and Allen, Curtis stepped in on short notice after Vettori pulled out due to injury.

The action-packed fight was full of twists and turns and two of the three judges had it 2-2 going into the fifth round. The third judge had it 3-1 in favor of Allen. However, in the waning seconds of the fifth round, Curtis appeared to injure his right leg and Allen poured it on Curtis.

Allen took Curtis back in almost all the rounds but Curtis exploded out of the position and used his superior boxing to hurt Allen. Curtis even staggered Allen with a punch but Allen secured a takedown and minimized the damage.

After the victory, Allen called out for a title shot against Dricus du Plessis who is rumored to headline UFC 305 against Israel Adesanya. Allen also called out Sean Strickland, the former UFC middleweight champion who is the first fighter to defeat him in the UFC.

There is a number one contender fight between Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev at UFC Saudi Arabia. Therefore, a fight against Strickland will likely be the best option for Brendam Allen.

Chris Curtis’ manager sheds light on injury

The commentators at UFC Vegas 90, Brendan Fitzgerald, Paul Felder, and Michael Bisping had it 2-2 going into the fifth round in the Chris Curtis versus Brendan Allen fight. They also stated that Curtis’ injury might have played a part in all the judges giving Allen the fifth round.

Lance Spaude, Chris Curtis’ manager, confirmed to MMA Mania‘s Alex Behunian that Curtis had injured his right hamstring in the second round of the fight. The 14th-ranked middleweight aggravated the injury in the grappling sequence at the end of the fifth round of the bout.

Curtis was unable to stand on his feet when the decision was read and required support from Eric Nicksick. Moreover, he was taken out of the octagon on a stretcher. If not for the injury, Curtis could’ve won the fight and made his entry into the top 10 of the rankings.

Before UFC Vegas 90, Curtis fought at UFC 297 against Marc-Andre Barriault and won via split decision. Now, with a torn hamstring, Curtis will likely need somewhere between three to six rounds to recover.

Did you think Chris Curtis’ injury played a part in his loss to Brendan Allen? Leave your thoughts below!