The beloved UFC fight nights, eagerly awaited by fight fans all over the world will resume this weekend and it will be the Vegas series which will kick off the action spectacle of 2025. While the year has changed, some things remain constant, and in the case of UFC, it is the stacked-up card that has become synonymous with the fight nights. The UFC Vegas 101 will be headlined by Amanda Ribas and Mackenzie Dern, this will be their second scuffle inside the Octagon, with the winner poised to further climb the ladder for the strawweight title. While we will have an eye open for that fight and other exciting fights on the card, but our majority focus would lie with Chris Curtis vs Roman Kopylov fight. It is an intriguing matchup of the middleweight division as veteran Curtis will take on the brute force of Roman Kopylov.
To delve further into the contest, Sports Tak got the opportunity to have a one-to-one with one of the protagonists of the fight, the Action-Man himself. In a brief but insightful conversation, Curtis shared his thoughts ahead of the fight and revealed what kept him out of the ring for over eight months. He also touched upon the idea of eventually retiring from the sport and divulged how many years he has under his sleeve as a fighter. Additionally, he offered his perspective on the upcoming middleweight title fight between Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis, as well as the inevitable presence of Khamzat Chimaev as a contender.
Without further ado, here are excerpts from the conversation.
Q. What are your thoughts on returning to the Octagon?
I can't wait; I am excited! I'm not used to being off for this long, so it's nice to get back in. You start to go stir-crazy when you don't get the chance to fight, but it's great to finally be back for fight week.
Q. You are known for being active in the division and in the past, you have accepted fights even on a one-month notice, So, what made you take a hiatus of 8 months?
I promise you; the hiatus wasn’t my decision. After my last fight, I tore my hamstring in the final seconds of the last round, which put me out for about four months. I recovered faster than expected—everyone said it would take 6-8 months, but I was cleared to fight in four.
I got into camp and signed the Kevin Holland fight, but just two days later, while sparring, I broke my foot. That set me back another two months. Once I was cleared, we took the time to get back in shape slowly, and now we’re here.
I didn’t want to be out for eight months, but everything bad kept happening back-to-back. Now, it’s fight week—I’m healthy, fingers crossed, and everything is good to go.
Q. What are your goals for 2025?
In 2025, I honestly just want to stay busy and active. 2024 was a rough year for me with some weird ups and downs, but my goal this year is to leave the past behind—it's gone. I want to show up on Saturday, start the year with a win, and get back on track.
We've fixed a lot of things in training and made some changes, so I feel great. I’m ready to get back to it. Like I said, I’m not used to sitting out or being on the sidelines, watching others fight while I’m just sitting around. I want to have a hell of a year.
Q. What can we expect from your fight against Roman Kopylov?
I’m personally excited myself. I love to fight. I want to put my nose against yours, get in there, and see what happens. Roman Kopylov is a really good kickboxer—one of the best in the division. He’s really, really freaking good, so I’m excited for this to be a war.
I think he’s super skilled, super-fast, strong, and technical, but I believe I’m way more experienced and better in those crunch situations. Nothing changes for me—every fight I go into, I aim to make it a war. I want it to be violent, bloody, and rough. That’s how I like fighting; it’s what makes it fun for me. It’s what gets my blood pumping. I want a war—I just want a war.
Q. What do you think, where will your advantage lie this Saturday against Roman Kopylov?
I think my experience definitely plays a big part here. Like I said, Roman Kopylov is really good—I can’t emphasize enough how good he is. But this is my 10th UFC fight and my 43rd professional MMA fight. I’ve fought really good strikers, really good grapplers, and guys who can do it all. I’ve fought everyone under the sun from everywhere. It’s just really hard to surprise me.
I’ve been in great fights, bad fights, fights that were easy, and fights where I walked away thinking, "Man, I thought I was going to die." I don’t think he’s been in those deep waters yet. He’s really good, but he’s only, what, 15 fights into his career? That’s still very early. Personally, I think if you’re under 25 fights, you’re still a newbie. So, I believe my experience will make the difference in this fight.
Q. What is your take on rankings at this stage in your career?
Who knows? If I go and beat Roman Kopylov, I should definitely be back in the rankings. But at this point, I don’t care—I just want to fight. I’ve started to care less about rankings; I just want to get in there and fight.
I’d say I’ll probably retire in a few more years—by the time I’m 40. I’ve been doing this for a long, long time, and I’m grateful my body has held up. I feel good, and I’ve got a few more years left in me. I just want to have as many fights and create as many memories as I can. Rankings are rankings. I’ve come to realize they’re made up by people who aren’t really in it—it’s such a strange thing. It’s really just a popularity contest.
It is what it is. If they give me my ranking back, that’s fine; if not, my paycheck stays the same regardless. I’m happy either way.
Q. As a veteran of this sport how long do you see yourself competing at the highest level, and is a potential retirement also in thoughts?
For me, I think at the rate I’m going now, I could probably fight past 40, maybe even until 45. But I’ve been around this sport for a long time, and I’ve started to realize—and see—that 40 is the age where most people start to decline. You can put it off, but at 40, it starts to show.
I think I can delay mine as well. I live a healthy lifestyle—I’m a healthy guy. I don’t party, smoke, or drink, and I train seven days a week, so I’ve managed to slow my decline a lot. But the unfortunate reality is that time catches up with everyone.
Q. Fighters often prolong their retirement, but you seem to have a specific idea related to when to call it a career, how did you come up with this assessment?
I’d rather be done by 40 and still have something left than to keep going and, at 46, be a shadow of the person I was. I don’t want that. I’ve seen people hang around the sport for way longer than they should have, and it’s not something I want for myself.
I think I’ve been here a long time, and three or four more years feels like the right time to walk away. No matter how good you feel, it’s better to step away while you still have something left. I’ve got a family, kids, and people who love me. It’s better to have something left to give them than nothing at all.
Q. What are your thoughts on the upcoming Dricus du Plessis vs Sean Strickland fight that is scheduled to take place at UFC 312?
The Sean and Dricus matchup is so wild to me because they’re both such weird fighters. Watching them fight each other, especially considering how close their first fight was, it’s tough to call. It was such a tight fight.
It’s hard to predict these fights because Dricus fights like a chimpanzee on cocaine in a phone booth—it’s wild, but it throws people off. Then you have Sean, who everyone labels as basic, but his style completely ruins people.
You’ve got two very unorthodox styles that are so hard to adjust to and figure out. As a fan of the sport, I’m really curious to watch this fight. I’ve got full faith in Sean, but I’m eager to see who makes the better adjustments. If there’s such a thing as a coin flip fight, this is definitely it.
Q. Khamzat Chimaev recently put on an exceptional display against Robert Whittaker. What do you think, has Chimaev reached his full potential and is he the next big thing in the division?
I’ve trained with Khamzat for a decent amount of time, and he’s definitely an interesting talent—one you don’t see all that often. I think if he can stay healthy, he’ll have a place in the division for a very long time.
I’ve watched him and Sean battle in the gym, and it’s like watching two cats fight—it’s pretty wild, and they’re very evenly matched. I think if you slot him in there with Sean and Dricus, he fits perfectly. He’s got the skill set to hang with them.
Seeing him go through Whittaker that fast was unexpected. It makes you ask: has Whittaker reached that age where time catches up to him, or is Khamzat hitting his full potential now? I think Khamzat’s next fight will answer some of those questions—whether it was more about Whittaker’s decline or Khamzat figuring everything out.
It’ll definitely be exciting to see what happens next.
* Watch the UFC Fight Night - Dern vs. Ribas 2 match Live on Sony Sports Ten 2 SD & HD, Sony Sports Ten 3 SD & HD (Hindi), Sony Sports Ten 4 SD & HD (Tamil & Telugu) at 4:30 PM IST on 12, January 2025. Sony Sports Network is the official broadcaster of UFC in India.