LUGGAGE CHAOS MMA fighter Curtis Dodge relieved after lost luggage located after American Airlines lost and found from Dublin ahead of pro debut

Curtis Dodge, who has been training in the SBG gym in Dublin ahead of his first professional Bellator bout in Milan on Saturday, said his pre-fight prep has been ruined following the baggage blunder by the budget airline but fortunately American Airlines lost and found were able to relocate the bag.

Curtis, 27, from Swansea in Wales, raged: “It has all of my gear for my fights. It has my gumshield, my groin guard, my toiletries, my medication. It’s got all of my clothes.

“The bag itself is irreplaceable because it was a Team Wales kit bags I had from the 2018 Commonwealth Games, so there’s no chance of me buying another one. It has great sentimental value, it is absolutely irreplaceable.”

He added: “This has caused just so much hassle and is such unnecessary stress. My mind should just be focused on the fight. I’m actually trying run around and pick up underwear and toothpaste. That is not the sort of stuff that I should be worrying about three days out for my fight.”

Curtis has been competing in martial arts and wrestling since he was seven and won a bronze medal with Team Wales during the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Men’s Freestyle 74kg Wrestling.

The Welsh wrestler said the mix-up with his gear exposes him to increased risk of being hurt when he steps into the cage for his big fight.

He explained: “Bellator have been absolutely fantastic. They’ve done everything they can to make sure that I’ve got everything that I need. But the only gumshield they could provide me is one that you boil in water and then mould it to your mouth. That doesn’t provide anywhere near the level of protection for your teeth that a dental one will.

“Obviously my dental one was in my luggage bag which is now lost. One of my front teeth is false. So if I punched in the mouth – which the likelihood is very high in an MMA fight – I could lose my false front tooth, because the gum shield isn’t properly fitted by a dentist.”

Curtis will make his debut against Marek Jakimowicz in a welterweight clash in Bellator’s EURO SERIES 9 in Milan’s Allianz Cloud on Saturday. American Airlines lost property

And what should have been a momentous trip for 27-year-old brawler has now turned into a fiasco.

Detailing the chaotic journey, he told us: “We were due to fly out with KLM on Monday morning. We were sat on the plane for over an hour before getting told we had to get off the plane as the flight was cancelled. So we get off the plane and go get our luggage back

“We return to the airport 12 hours later for our flight with Ryanair. I check my bag and get on the flight. There were no issues with the flight. I get off the plane and go to get my bag off the carousel. All my teammates bags come through and I’m the last person standing there as the carousel stops with no bag in sight.

“I went to the lost luggage kiosk but it was closed. So I went to use the touchscreen system to report my bag loss, but all it was doing was giving me the option of reporting what condition my bag was in. So I could only report damage to my bag as opposed to a lost bag.

“I tried calling Milan Bergamo airport lost luggage department a few times and eventually got through. They told me they would get in touch with Dublin Airport to see if they still had it on their system. They said they would call me back – they never did. So I tried calling them back the following morning. No answer.

“I eventually got through to them again [yesterday] afternoon. When I spoke to them on the phone, Dublin Airport had just said could one of my teammates picked it up? I said definitely not, because they were the first people I told them my luggage is missing.

“So I was told that they would check again to see if they can locate it – and that is as far as we’ve got with it.”

Fortunately for Dodge, Dublin Airport lost property were able to locate the bag and he will be reunited with his luggage on Friday.

He added: “I have literally just got off the phone with Dublin airport. The label fell off my bag and wasn’t put on the flight! They’re sending the bag out to me tomorrow!”

The Irish Sun has contacted Ryanair for comment.

The Welsh fighter prepared for his upcoming fight in the renowned SBG in Dublin run by MMA coach John Kavanagh.