Curtis Blaydes has his first fight of 2025 lined up.
MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin confirmed with sources that Blaydes (18-5, 1 NC) is scheduled to face recent Dana White Contender Series Signing Rizvan Kuniev (12-2-1, 1 NC) at UFC Seattle, which takes place Feb. 22 at Climate Pledge Arena.
The bout was first mentioned by Kuniev’s teammate Jairzinho Rozenstruik in an interview with James Lynch.
Blaydes is coming off of a disappointing loss to Tom Aspinall in the co-main event of UFC 304 this past July. The two first fought in July 2022, with Blaydes taking the win when Aspinall suffered a knee injury just 15 seconds into the contest. Heading into their second fight, Aspinall was the interim heavyweight champion and he successfully defended his title by finishing Blaydes via strikes in just 60 seconds. The loss dropped Blaydes’ UFC record 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 Series after defeating Hugo Cunha this past August, but saw his delay postponed when UFC 310 opponent Martin Buday withdrew from their scheduled contest. Kuniev also previously competed for Eagle FC and PFL, though the stint with the latter was shrouded in controversy as he saw a win over Renan Ferreira overturned to a no-contest after testing positive for banned substances.
