Fighter Wins Octagon Debut with Dazzling KO Kick, Retires Immediately After

While the big story coming out of Tuesday's installment of Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series was Greg Hardy's emphatic and problematic success, the ex-NFLer wasn't the only one that turned heads in MMA. UFC hopeful Chris Curtis dropped fans' jaws when he broke Sean Lally's with a vicious, Shawn Michaels-esque superkick.

That was a high point for a staple of New England's regional scene...but unfortunately, it was followed by a series of lower lows.

Following the announcement that the UFC president was inexplicably unwilling to give Curtis a UFC contract (a regular prize for winning on the show), the competitor discovered that he had broken his hand in the first round of the fight and required surgery to repair the damage. With a major procedure looming and an official UFC debut not forthcoming, he announced his retirement on Facebook just hours after scoring one of the most impressive victories of his career:

"Well I broke my hand in the first and that's going to require surgery soooo super. But I would like to thank everyone who has shown me love and supported me and helped caery my dream for eleven long years. I cannot tell you what that means to me, but I now officially announce my retirement from MMA. I will keep you guys posted but thank you for now and godbless."

That's a sad series of events for Curtis.

The Action Man, 19-5 in his professional career, has smashed opponents across a number of promotions, most notably CES MMA. He has faced remarkably stiff competition on the regional scene and come out on top more often than not. A strong case can be made that he should have been brought directly into the UFC given his experience and success.

Alas, instead it seems that he may be poised to retire. Though it's certainly possible that the itch will return in a few months' time, it's a shame that things had to pan out this way at all.