Athletes
Chris Curtis’s Newfound Confidence
Chris Curtis Returns To The Welterweight Division To Face Max Griffin As He Looks To Get Back To Winning Ways At UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs Teixeira
Chris Curtis goes into this fight week with a different feeling.
For a significant amount of his fighting career, he has been mainly in the middleweight division. When he walks to the Octagon this Saturday, it will be at welterweight. Usually, fighters tend to only go up weight classes this far into their career, and for someone as experienced as Curtis, at 37 years old, he finds himself in rare company.
Curtis would venture to say he is more reassured than anything,
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“I have been fighting most of my career at 170, my home was 170. When we got signed to 185, turns out I exceeded everyone’s, including my own, expectations,” Curtis begins.
“We did way too well. I did really well at 185, but once you start getting higher up in the rankings, it’s not just how good guys are; physicality becomes an issue… you can’t bridge that gap.”
Curtis at middleweight had some notable feats, including some records. Curtis has made a lasting impression on the active middleweight records as he is ranked 3rd in takedown defense, 7th fortotal fight night bonuses, 9th in significant strikes landed and 5th in strikes landed per minute at 6.07.
These stats share a story of someone that wants to entertain and has a knack for putting on a show. Curtis is certainly game bred and ready to do just that.
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“I feel at home at 170. Against other welterweights, I feel strong again, me having that confidence of not worrying about being undersized lets me fight the way that I am comfortable fighting. I get to go back to the style of fighting that I had before, mixed with some new stuff. It’s a confidence thing, but I feel ready and that I belong at 170.”
It will be interesting to see how Curtis adjusts to going down and if the power will translate like speed usually does. His opponent, Max Griffin, is another seasoned veteran at almost 40 years of age. Griffin also has power in his hands, so expectations are high for a striker’s delight.
Curtis welcomes Griffin and states, “I am very excited; it’s like two old uncles fighting at the cookout. We’re both almost 40 and have both been around for a long time. We both have fought everyone under the sun. I like Max Griffin, he’s gritty and tough.
“I think this will be a good chance to test how my body feels at 170 and how I make the adjustments from going to bigger guys to smaller guys. Hopefully, we get to put on a show for you guys.”
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For two fighters coming off losses, it will be interesting to see how both will start this fight. For Curtis, he states that confidence is his superpower and that it has only grown since his cut down to welterweight. And when Curtis steps into the Octagon, he brings the uncertainty of his game. His game being the ability to make the fight ugly and make it a brawl. Curtis has seen the likes of Brendan Allen, Joaquin Buckley, Kelvin Gastelum, Roman Kopylov and Nassourdine Imavov. And with wins over Allen and Buckley, he has proven that he belongs. Now, he hopes to make quick work of Max Griffin.
“I have always said that my goal in this is to see how far I can go.”
UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs Teixeira took place live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee on July 12, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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