Curtis Blaydes may have won his UFC Baku fight against Rizvan Kuniev, but it was a close fight that almost saw him lose to a UFC newcomer. Blaydes showed off his wrestling skills right away by taking down his opponent. Blaydes was in charge of the grappling, holding Kuniev against the fence and winning the clinch bouts. Kuniev made several changes and got some momentum in the second round. He stopped takedowns and landed clean punches, hurting Bladyes' left eye. During the third round, Kuniev shocked Blaydes with a knee, but Blaydes also hit him with a lot of blows and used knees to control the clinch. Kuniev added a late flurry of wild exchanges to end the contest. Two of the three judges gave the bout to Blaydes, which meant he won. Curtis Blaydes wins a controversial fight against Rizvan Kuniev at UFC Baku. Blaydes fought for the first time since losing by knockout to Tom Aspinall at UFC 304, when he fought for the interim UFC heavyweight title. Kuniev has fought for PFL and Eagle FC before, and he won the heavyweight title in the latter.