Chris Curtis Says UFC Matchmakers Blocked Luis Hernandez Fight
Chris Curtis says he already asked the UFC to book Luis Hernandez.
The veteran posted a video after Hernandez’s debut win and told fans to stop tagging him as if the fight is simple. “I’m getting a lot of messages, a lot of tags and whatnot, like, fight Luis Hernandez, fight Luis Hernandez,” Curtis said. “Guys, I am petty as hell.”
He said the request went in the moment Hernandez signed. “The moment Luis Hernandez gets signed to the UFC, I messaged the matchmakers,” Curtis said. “And my response from both was, he’s not ready yet. He’s got no fights, he’s not ready yet.”
That reply is Curtis’s account. The UFC has not confirmed the messages.
Hernandez is no longer a prospect without a UFC win. On September 26 at UFC Fight Night, he replaced Mickey Gall on two days’ notice and submitted Sedriques Dumas with a standing guillotine at 0:57 of the first round. The Miami-Dade deputy moved up to light heavyweight for the short-notice bout and improved to 9-0.
Curtis said he messaged again as soon as that result posted. “Last night, he gets his win,” Curtis said. “I immediately message the matchmakers. I get the response, he’s not ready, he’s still not ready, he’s not on your level. So I can’t fight him right now, I’ve tried.”
He did not pretend the grudge is professional distance. “I’m a very petty man, I have tried already,” Curtis said. “But I want him to do well. I want him to get a few wins, because the moment he gets a few wins, the moment he’s not brand new in the UFC, I’m going to find him.”
The history is older than Saturday. Hernandez beat Miles Hunsinger at Tuff-N-Uff 145 in June 2025, then jawed at Hunsinger’s corner. Sean Strickland and Curtis were in that corner. Strickland later entered the cage and was suspended. Curtis never let it go.
“I’ve been circling this man like a shark in the water, and the moment he gets a few more wins, I am going to be there for him,” Curtis said. “And the moment they stop saying he’s not ready, and they let him have a real fight, I am going to fold this man like a cheap suitcase. I cannot wait.”
He said a friend of Hernandez tried to close it. “I ran into one of his boys the other day, he’s like, oh, he wants to squash the beef,” Curtis said. “I told him I’m going to pop his head like a grape when I see him. There’s no forgiveness, there’s no letting it go.”
Then he congratulated Hernandez and promised the opposite of peace. “Lewis Hernandez, congratulations, good work,” Curtis said. “But the moment they say yes, and we sign that contract, I’m going to strangle you and drown you like a bag of unwanted puppies.”
None of that is a booking. Hernandez just arrived. He earned a Contender Series contract on September 15, then took a featured UFC fight 11 days later and finished it in under a minute. Matchmakers often keep a new 9-0 finisher away from a long-time middleweight veteran until the résumé has more UFC minutes.
Weight is another issue. Hernandez said after the Dumas fight that he wants to get back down to middleweight. Curtis has spent most of his UFC run there. If both men land at 185, the matchup is easier to sell than a light heavyweight replacement date against a veteran who last fought in March.
Curtis lost a decision to Myktybek Orolbai on March 14 and has not been announced for a return. Hernandez has no next opponent listed. The callout sits in the gap between those two facts.
Fans want the fight because the beef is real and both men finish. The UFC wants Hernandez to look like a prospect, not a revenge date. Curtis is telling the company he will wait only until the official answer changes from “not ready.”
