January 15, 2025 8: 45 am ET
Eric Nicksick went off on referee Mark Smith for his handling of Chris Curtis’ loss at UFC Fight Night 249.
Curtis (31-12 MMA, 5-4 UFC) was dropped by a Roman Kopylov (13-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) head kick with just one second left in their middleweight fight this past Saturday at the UFC Apex, prompting Smith to waive the fight off.
Curtis immediately protested the stoppage, but his head coach Nicksick is irked by other things that happened during the fight – which he warned Smith about prior.
“First and foremost, we need to take accountability on our end,” Nicksick said on his “Versus Us” podcast. “We should have never been in that position. If you don’t want Mark to make that call, then don’t get head kicked. Don’t be in that position or that situation to make him make that type of decision.
“Now, the stoppage was questionable. We’re all agreeing to that, but it wasn’t the stoppage that I’m mad about. It was the fact that prior to the fight, the referee comes in and asks, ‘Do you have any questions or concerns?’ Chris Curtis went on and said, ‘This guy will find ways to stall. What are you going to do if and when he does stall? How are you going to handle that?’
“We laid out the game plan on how we’re going to attack and approach. … We were told something different than the way he handled it in the fight. That’s what I’m pissed off about. You never get three timeouts in a f*cking fight. So