Curtis Blaydes vs Rizvan Kuniev Full Fight – UFC on ABC 8

Curtis Blaydes defeated Rizvan Kuniev via a highly controversial split decision (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) on June 21, 2025, at UFC on ABC 8 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The three-round heavyweight clash was a back-and-forth battle marked by critical injuries, heavy damage, and heavily debated scoring.

• Round 1: Blaydes established an early lead by utilizing his trademark wrestling. He secured multiple takedowns and used heavy pressure to control Kuniev against the cage. However, during the grappling exchanges, Blaydes felt his left MCL “pop,” a severe injury that drastically altered his mobility for the remainder of the fight. Both fighters also suffered bad cuts early on—Blaydes on his forehead and Kuniev on the bridge of his nose.

• Round 2: With Blaydes compromised by his knee injury, Kuniev took complete control of the momentum. The debuting Russian pushed the pace on the feet and repeatedly rocked Blaydes with heavy, significant strikes. By the end of the round, Blaydes was visibly damaged, fighting with a severely swollen eye while bleeding from both his mouth and nose. 
• Round 3: Blaydes adapted by taking a more measured approach, relying on leg kicks and body jabs from the outside. Kuniev countered effectively with sharp knees and right hands. To survive the striking exchanges, Blaydes relied heavily on clinching against the fence to run down the clock and limit Kuniev’s offense. 

The judges’ decision sparked immediate controversy in the MMA community. While two judges favored Blaydes for his control time in rounds 1 and 3, a vast majority of media outlets scored the bout for Kuniev, citing the massive disparity in visual and physical damage. Kuniev left the Octagon essentially unblemished, while Blaydes was heavily battered. Following the bout, Rizvan Kuniev publicly campaigned for a rematch to settle the score decisively.