With 43 seconds to go, ‘Action-Man’ landed a clean left hook on Hawes, who nearly went down but balanced himself back up.
Curtis followed the massive left hook with knees and punches, finishing Phil Hawes in the first round of his UFC debut.
Watch the finish below:
ESPN MMA’s Brett Okamoto took to Twitter to react to the finish, saying:
Marc Raimondi also praised Curtis for returning from retirement previously in his career.
The 34-year-old veteran broke into the limelight after winning a fight on Dana White’s Contender Series. Unfortunately, he wasn’t offered a contract by the promotion then.
Although the round saw Hawes landing most of the big shots, Curtis was patient throughout the contest and waited for the right opportunity to land his own. The fight was called off in favor of Chris Curtis at the 4:27 mark of the first round.
USA Today’s Nolan King spoke retrospectively of Curtis’ MMA journey and praised the middleweight fighter for his perseverance.
Chris Curtis spoke about his son in an interview after beating Phil Hawes; claims perseverance played a huge role in his career
Chris Curtis was visibly emotional after his first UFC win. He spoke about his son and the lessons that his MMA journey has taught him.
Speaking to Aaron Bronsteter, Curtis said:
Watch the interview below:
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