Curtis Blaydes has his first battle of 2025 lined up.
MMA Preventing’s Damon Martin confirmed with sources that Blaydes (18-5, 1 NC) is scheduled to face latest Dana White Contender Sequence Signing Rizvan Kuniev (12-2-1, 1 NC) at UFC Seattle, which takes place Feb. 22 at Local weather Pledge Enviornment.
The bout was first talked about by Kuniev’s teammate Jairzinho Rozenstruik in an interview with James Lynch.
Blaydes is coming off of a disappointing loss to Tom Aspinall within the co-main occasion of UFC 304 this previous July. The 2 first fought in July 2022, with Blaydes taking the win when Aspinall suffered a knee harm simply 15 seconds into the competition. Heading into their second battle, Aspinall was the interim heavyweight champion and he efficiently defended his title by ending Blaydes by way of strikes in simply 60 seconds. The loss dropped Blaydes’ UFC report to 13-5 (1 NC).
Russia’s Kuniev has taken a winding path to his UFC debut. The 31-year-old heavyweight was signed off of Contender Sequence after defeating Hugo Cunha this previous August, however noticed his delay postponed when UFC 310 opponent Martin Buday withdrew from their scheduled contest. Kuniev additionally beforehand competed for Eagle FC and PFL, although the stint with the latter was shrouded in controversy as he noticed a win over Renan Ferreira overturned to a no-contest after testing constructive for banned substances.
