Curtis Blaydes Beats Rizvan Kuniev by Split Decision
Curtis Blaydes and Rizvan Kuniev eventually met in the UFC heavyweight division on June 21, 2025, in Baku, Azerbaijan. Blaydes won a three-round split decision at UFC Fight Night: Hill vs. Rountree Jr., with two judges scoring it 29-28 for him and one scoring it 29-28 for Kuniev. The fight had first been scheduled for UFC 313 in Las Vegas on March 8, but Blaydes withdrew on event day because of an illness. The UFC confirmed the cancellation in its event update.
A bout delayed twice before Baku
The matchup had already experienced schedule changes before UFC 313. Kuniev, a former Dana White’s Contender Series heavyweight, was initially paired with Blaydes for a February event before the contest moved to March’s pay-per-view card. It was billed as a featured preliminary bout at T-Mobile Arena, but the UFC announced shortly before the event that Blaydes and featherweight John Castaneda had both been removed because of illness.
Kuniev’s UFC debut was therefore delayed, and the heavyweight pairing was rescheduled for the promotion’s first event in Azerbaijan. The bout took place on the main card at Baku Crystal Hall on June 21. This time, both fighters made it to the Octagon, and the contest went the full three rounds.
Blaydes edged a close decision
Blaydes leaned on his wrestling and pressure, repeatedly working to bring Kuniev to the fence and the canvas. Kuniev defended well and had stretches of effective striking, making the result close enough to produce a split verdict. The official scores were 29-28, 29-28, and 28-29 for Blaydes. The UFC’s published scorecards list the result and each judge’s decision.
The win gave Blaydes a return to the victory column after his heavyweight title fight loss to Tom Aspinall at UFC 304 in July 2024. For Kuniev, the Baku appearance became his first official UFC bout after years of competing outside the promotion. The contest was not a title fight, but it offered the 32-year-old newcomer a difficult test against a ranked veteran with extensive UFC experience.
A different story from the UFC 313 preview
The original March announcement presented Blaydes versus Kuniev as an upcoming UFC 313 heavyweight clash. That preview became outdated when Blaydes fell ill, so the March 8 card proceeded without the bout. The later Baku result is the matchup’s completed outcome: Blaydes won by split decision after the rescheduling, rather than on the UFC 313 card.
What followed the Baku decision
The Baku bout was not the last recent result for either heavyweight. Blaydes later lost a unanimous decision to Josh Hokit at UFC 327 in April 2026, then returned in September and defeated Waldo Cortes-Acosta by unanimous decision. Blaydes’s UFC profile lists both results. Kuniev’s next listed UFC bout was a third-round TKO win over Tyrell Fortune on July 25, 2026; his UFC profile lists the win.
Blaydes spoke with Michael Bisping after the decision in Baku. The UFC’s post-fight interview captures his reaction to the close win. The video below features that Octagon interview from the night the long-delayed heavyweight bout finally took place.
