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UFC Fight Night: Allen vs. Curtis 2 Takeaways and Thoughts
April 7, 2024
On a very busy sports Saturday, the UFC presented Allen vs. Curtis 2 on ESPN+ for fight fans. It was a fun card, for sure. Admittedly, my eyes were on multiple screens while watching, but I saw enough to have some thoughts. Let’s take a look at the results…
Main Card
Brendan Allen def. Chris Curtis via split decision (47-48, 48-47, 49-46)
Damon Jackson def. Alexander Hernandez via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
Chepe Mariscal def. Morgan Charriere via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
Ignacio Bahamondes def. Christos Giagos via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 3:34
Charlie Campbell def. Trevor Peek via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Preliminary Card
Alex Morono def. Court McGee via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Lukasz Brzeski def. Valter Walker via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Norma Dumont def. Germaine de Randamie via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Victor Hugo def. Pedro Falcao via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Jean Matsumoto def. Dan Argueta via submission (guillotine choke) — R2, 4:59
Cesar Almeida def. Dylan Budka via TKO (strikes) — R2, 2:13
Nora Cornolle def. Melissa Mullins via TKO (strikes) — R2, 3:06
The Prelims
Luckily, the Prelims started while I was waiting for other things to come on, so I got to focus on the first few fights. Here’s what I enjoyed from the early fights…
Nora Cornolle used her kickboxing nicely and had some good takedown defense in her win over Melissa Mullins. Both women missed weight, but it seemed that Mullins had a tougher time with the process. Either way, Cornolle picked up a big win here and might not be far away from being ranked if the UFC doesn’t rank her on Tuesday.
Both Cesar Almedia and Jean Matsumoto had nice second round finishes over very tough opponents. These are two guys that I’m excited to see again.
Victor Hugo had a really fun, back and forth fight with Pedro Falcao. Hugo got a nice win, but I give a lot of credit to Falcao. Not only did he make weight on just a few days' notice, but he gave it his all here. I hope he gets another look.
After a long layoff, Germaine de Randamie was looking to get a big win in her comeback. Norma Dumont wasn’t allowing that, though. She brought de Randamie to the ground multiple times and used her strength to keep GdR down. Bantamweight is not an easy cut for Norma Dumont, but if she can continue to figure it out, she might be a force in the division.
Lukasz Brzeski got a big upset win over Valter Walker. Walker came in with a decent amount of hype. A lot of fight fans were excited to see what the younger brother of Johnny could do inside the Octagon. However, he never really went into attack mode and seemed gassed pretty early on. At least he has a list of things to work on for his next time out.
I knew I’d be able to rely on Alex Morono and Court McGee to have a fun fight. They really delivered and I was happy to see them both go at it. Alex picked up a nice win and I’m happy to see Court feeling good again.
Charlie Campbell vs. Trevor Peek
Beating the intense Trevor Peek is not easy, but Charlie Campbell looked good doing it. This was a very impressive win for Campbell. Things seem to be clicking for a lot of the Ray Longo fighters.
Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Christos Giagos
Speaking of impressive Lightweight Division wins, Ignacio Bahamondes made quick work of Christos Giagos. Bahamondes is back on track after a loss. If he can string some wins together, he has a lot of tools that could make a climb up the division a lot of fun.
Chepe Mariscal def. Morgan Charriere
I highly suggest checking out this fight. Remember when I said that I was watching other things during this show? For this fight, my eyes had a hard time being pulled away. It was an excellent back and forth fight that went to a split decision. I also had trouble scoring it, but was leaning towards Charriere. I can’t argue with Mariscal’s output, though. Chepe gets the big win, but I can’t wait to see the next fight from both of these guys.
Damon Jackson vs. Anthony Hernandez
This also went to a split decision. Again, I was on the wrong side, as I was leaning towards Hernandez earning the win. Jackson was definitely more active after getting off to a rough start. This was a much needed win, though, for Jackson. It’ll be interesting to see what happens next for Hernandez, who also needed the win and missed weight big time.
Brendan Allen vs. Chris Curtis
In the third split decision in a row, Brendan Allen got his win back against Chris Curtis. This time, I was right with where I was leaning. Personally, I think Allen got the win, despite it being pretty close. This was a fun fight, though, and both guys brought it. I wouldn’t mind a third fight down the road, if it made sense. It’ll take a lot for that to happen, though, as Allen is on the rise and getting closer and closer to a title shot. He’ll need another fight or two to really make the case, but he’s not far off. Curtis, though, continues his ups and downs and also seemed to hurt his leg in this fight. It’ll be interesting to see where the UFC goes with both of these men going forward.
As for my picks, I went 6-6. I’m in a bit of a slump with my picking lately, but I guess that goes to show how unpredictable this sport can be. The fan in me is not complaining at all!
Overall, I thought this show was a lot of fun. While I feel like I saw what I needed to see, I was a bit sad that part of it was on at the same time as WrestleMania and some other sports. I know I could have watched it at a different time, but I like to try and watch things live, if I can. I might have to go back and rewatch the split decisions again, though, just to see if my opinions change.
What did you think, though? Were the split decisions really close? Do you agree with how I was leaning? Let me know at matt.tenhoeve@gmail.com. I’ll be back later this week to talk about PFL 2 and the big UFC 300 show. See you then!
