Here we go again, again.
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight title challenger Curtis Blaydes and UFC newbie Rizvan Kuniev were supposed to collide this past weekend (Sat., March 8, 2025) at UFC 313; however, the day of the fight, “Razor” fell ill with norovirus and the fight was scrapped.
Today (Tues., March 11, 2025), VestnikMMA reported that the two Heavyweights will try for a third time at UFC Qatar on May 17, 2025, which is set to go down inside Lusail Sports Arena (they were supposed to fight at UFC Seattle, too).
The promotion has not officially announced UFC Qatar, but it should be in the coming weeks.
Blaydes (18-5) has been out of action since his disappointing quick UFC Heavyweight title loss to Tom Aspinall at UFC 304 in July 2024. He is looking to rebound and start climbing back up the divisional ladder.
“Razor” is 4-2 in this last six fights.
UFC light heavyweight contender Johnny Walker will look to get back on track when he returns to action on May 17.
After having his plans for fight against Bogdan Guskov at UFC 311 this past January scuppered by injury, the Brazilian veteran’s layoff is approaching nine months.
But per MMA Junkie, Walker (21-9, 1 NC) won’t have too much longer to wait, with the 32-year-old set to face the undefeated Azamat Murzakanov (14-0) at the UFC Fight Night event on May 17.
It would seem that Paul Craig’s brief middleweight experiment in the UFC has come to a relatively swift end.
After testing the waters of a cut down to 185 pounds, Craig (17-9-1) looked to re-find winning form in a new division. While his arrival was strong, defeating the once highly touted Andre Muniz by TKO, the Scotsman has since lost three straight.
Following a submission loss to Brendan Allen and knockout at the hands of Caio Borralho, “Bearjew” was most recently outpointed by the undefeated Bo Nickal at UFC 309 last November.
That result has evidently marked Craig’s final straw at middleweight, with the veteran set to return to the division in which he was formerly ranked.
Craig will reportedly share the cage with Rodolfo Bellato (12-2-1) at UFC Vegas 106 on May 17. The news was first reported by @MagicM_MMABets on X and later corroborated by Marcel Dorff.