“I Fought 3 Rounds With Usaman With A…”: Recalling His Fight Against Kamaru Usman, Sean Strickland Comes Out in Support of His Friend Chris Curtis After a Disheartening NC at UFC 289

Fans won’t forget the UFC 289 PPV for a long time. It had some exciting match-ups and some thrilling finishes. Charles Oliveira was able to gain back his confidence with a spectacular victory over Beneil Dariush. On the other hand, Amanda Nunes retired from MMA after defending her bantamweight title in dominant fashion against Irene Aldana. However, for Chris Curtis, the night didn’t unfold as planned.

Curtis stepped into the Octagon to face Nassourdine Imavov in the final match of the Preliminary card. Unfortunately, the fight was cut short and declared a no contest due to an accidental head butt that left Curtis with a bloody eyebrow.

Following the fight, some fans criticized Curtis, accusing him of quitting. The backlash prompted a Twitter user to seek the opinion of Sean Strickland, a friend, and gymmate of Curtis.

Sean Strickland backs his training partner!

The fan asked Strickland, “What do you have to say to the people who think Chris Curtis quit tonight?” Strickland, drawing from his own experiences, responded with empathy and wisdom. He referenced his fight against Kamaru Usman, where he suffered an orbital floor fracture and endured relentless punishment.

Moreover, Strickland revealed that despite the pain and compromised vision, he continued to fight. Reflecting on that experience, he stated that he would never allow a fighter to continue if they expressed an inability to see clearly.

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“I fought 3 rounds with Usaman with a orbital floor fracture.. getting my head bounced off the mat for 15 minutes not being able to see… From that experience, I’d never let a fighter continue who said they couldn’t see…”

Revisiting Kamaru Usman vs Sean Strickland

This fight dates back to April 8th, 2017, when neither of the two fighters was famous. Kamaru Usman faced Sean Strickland in the second-last fight of the Preliminary Card. Surprisingly, Usman dominated the entire fight by a long margin.

While ‘Tarzan’ was only able to land 30 of 108 significant strikes, Usman landed 117 of 200! Moreover, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ also attempted 8 takedowns, out of which 2 were successful. On the other hand, Strickland could not even attempt one.

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In the end, judges scored the fight 30–27, 30–26, and 30–26 in the former UFC champion’s favor. Hearing about Strickland’s problem in that fight, it makes much more sense why he was dominated to such an extent!