Chris Curtis has stepped up on short notice to rematch Brendan Allen in the main event of UFC Vegas 90, replacing Marvin Vettori who was originally slated to fight Allen.
The news of Marvin Vettori’s withdrawal from the main event bout against Allen surfaced on Thursday. Following this development, Allen took to Instagram to challenge several middleweights ranked above him, including Jared Cannonier and Robert Whittaker.
However, the UFC revealed via social media on Friday that Chris Curtis has accepted the opportunity to fill in for Marvin Vettori and will once again face Brendan Allen. The rematch is scheduled to take place next month on April 6 at the UFC Apex.
Curtis and Allen previously squared off at UFC Vegas 44 back in December 2021. Originally, Allen was set to fight Roman Dolidze, but the latter had to withdraw, prompting Curtis to step in on short notice. In a surprising turn of events, Curtis secured a second-round TKO victory, marking just his second UFC appearance.
Marvin Vettori OUT ❌
Chris Curtis IN ✅@BrendanAllenMMA vs Chris Curtis 2 is on the books for #UFCVegas90 pic.twitter.com/PU0btZHnvl— UFC (@ufc) March 15, 2024
Since their initial encounter, Allen has been on a remarkable six-fight winning streak, while Curtis boasts a record of 3-2 with one No Contest.
Brendan Allen (23-5) enters the rematch riding a six-fight win streak, most recently notching a submission victory over Paul Craig. Ranked sixth in the middleweight division, Allen holds notable victories over Kevin Holland, Andre Muniz, and Tom Breese, among others.
Chris Curtis (31-10 with one No Contest) is fresh off a split decision triumph against Marc-Andre Barriault at UFC 297 in January. Prior to that, he faced a No Contest against Nassourdine Imavov following a decision loss to Kelvin Gastelum. C
urrently ranked 14th in the middleweight division, Curtis boasts a UFC record of 5-2 with one No Contest, with wins over Allen, Rodolfo Vieira, Joaquin Buckley, and Phil Hawes.
With the rematch between Allen and Curtis now set, the lineup for UFC Vegas 90 is as follows:
- Brendan Allen vs. Chris Curtis
- Norma Dumont vs. Germaine de Randamie
- Alexander Hernandez vs. Damon Jackson
- Heili Alateng vs. Victor Hugo
- Charlie Campbell vs. Trevor Peek
- Lukasz Brzeski vs. Valter Walker
- Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Christos Giagos
- Nora Cornolle vs. Melissa Mullins
- Cynthia Calvillo vs. Piera Rodriguez
- Dan Argueta vs. Jean Matsumoto
- Court McGee vs. Alex Morono
- Morgan Charriere vs. Jose Marsical
- Cesar Almeida vs. Dylan Budka
