A night to forget: MMA fighter announces retirement after defeat – only to return 1 hour later and get brutally KO’d (VIDEO)

There were bizarre scenes at PFL 7 in Las Vegas on Friday night as welterweight MMA star Chris Curtis retired following defeat, only to don his gloves again shortly afterwards and get brutally KO’d in his second bout of the night.

The quirks of the PFL Playoffs format mean that fighters in numerous divisions had to come through quarterfinal and semifinal fights on one night  at the Mandalay Bay Events Center to secure at shot at the $1 million prize in the end-of-year finals.

Competing in the quarterfinal of the welterweight bracket, Chris ‘The Action Man' Curtis suffered a unanimous decision defeat to last year’s champion Magomed Magomedkerimov after two rounds of fighting.

Curtis, 32, indicated afterwards that the appearance would be his last, laying down his gloves in the cage and later taking to social media to indicate he was retiring.

However, in a bizarre twist, Magomedkerimov fell ill ahead of his semifinal bout against Ray Cooper III, meaning the much-fancied Russian was forced to pull out.

Magomedkerimov’s withdrawal paved the way for Curtis to step in, reversing a retirement that he had announced on social media less than an hour previously.

But there was to be no redemption for Curtis as he suffered his second defeat in the space of one night when Cooper knocked him out cold with a huge right hand early in the second round.

Once he had recovered his senses, Curtis confirmed for the second time that he was calling it quits on a pro career that had brought 21 victories and eight defeats. 

Elsewhere on the night, America’s Kayla Harrison – who has described herself as “the female Khabib” – secured a spot in the women’s lightweight final by submitting Bobbi Jo Dalziel.

Unbeaten judoka phenom Harrison will meet Larissa Pacheco in the final – an opponent she defeated via a decision win during the PFL regular season.