The UFC's first event of 2025 proved to be an incident-packed affair, with highlight-reel knockouts, slick submissions, and back-and-forth wars delivering plenty of entertainment at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas.
However, perhaps the biggest moment at UFC Vegas 101 came at the end of the middleweight main card bout between Roman Kopylov and Chris Curtis, as referee Mark Smith controversially intervened to wave off the fight with just one second remaining.
More news: UFC Fighter Chris Curtis Left Incensed After Referee Stops Fight With One Second Remaining
The man on the rough end of that call was American MMA veteran Chris Curtis, who was arguably even more stunned by the referee's call than he was by the head kick from Kopylov that had sent him to the canvas moments earlier.
Kopylov opted not to follow up the knockdown and instead walked away, while Curtis started to return to his feet. But the official intervened as Curtis was on his way back up, leaving "Action Man" bewildered and frustrated at the decision.
Curtis argued his case at the time, but by that point it was academic. A fight cannot be restarted after a referee has waved it off, and it meant that Curtis, who was returning from a nine-month injury layoff, had no option but to accept the result.
The defeat was the 12th of Curtis' 44-fight MMA career, and the first time he had suffered back-to-back losses under the UFC banner. The one positive from an otherwise frustrating night was the bump to his paycheck – Curtis earned a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus for his part in the most entertaining bout of the evening.
After the dust had settled, Curtis posted a message on his Instagram to share his post-fight thoughts with his followers.
"Only job in the world where you can make 200k in a night and still be absolutely heartbroken and questioning where you go from here," he wrote.
"No damage, I'm fine. Probably train tomorrow for my sanity, but just frustrated and heartbroken. Eight months off. Hamstring tear, broken foot and then a calf tear. Trained through it all. Never lost sight of the goal. Just hurts to come up short.
"Thank you to everyone who reached out, have had a lot of love online and in person, it means the world to me. I guess I should take some comfort in fight of the night, but I only view tonight as a failure."
Rather than direct his ire at the referee, Curtis instead looked at his own performance in the fight, and suggested that a move back down to welterweight could be on the cards.
"Maybe 170 is the way to go from here," he mused.
"Rest this weekend and I guess we have a talk with the team and management about what comes next."
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Curtis spent the majority of his pre-UFC career at welterweight, but after an unsuccessful run in the PFL's 2019 welterweight season, he signed with the UFC and moved to middleweight. In his 10 appearances inside the Octagon so far – all at 185 pounds – he has won five and lost four, with one bout ruled a no-contest.
Now a potential drop back to 170 pounds could offer the chance for Curtis to open a new chapter in his career as he looks to bounce back from Saturday's controversial loss.
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