Veteran mixed-martial-arts fighter Chris Curtis defeated fellow American Max Griffin by split decision in the final preliminary bout at UFC Nashville on 13 July. Judges scored the three-round welterweight contest 28-29, 29-28 and 29-28 in Curtis’s favour, reflecting a closely contested match in which both men landed significant strikes and traded momentum until the closing horn. The victory marked Curtis’s return to the welterweight division for the first time since 2021; the 37-year-old had campaigned at middleweight in recent outings. Sportsbooks installed him as a heavy favourite at −310 against Griffin’s +230, and the result lifts him back into the win column after consecutive losses at 185 pounds. Griffin, a 38-year-old from California, pressed the action early but struggled to sustain offence as Curtis’s boxing and body work intensified in the later rounds. The decision capped the preliminary card at Bridgestone Arena, setting the stage for the evening’s main programme.