Curtis Blaydes vs Rizvan Kuniev at UFC 313 | Preview & Prediction
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The final fight on the preliminary card at UFC 313 at the T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas all that guarantees fireworks as Curtis Blaydes meet Rizvan Kuniev in the heavyweight division
Curtis Blaydes vs Rizvan Kuniev Facts
When is UFC 313? UK – the extra preliminary card starts at 12:00am on Sunday 9th March 2025, followed by the preliminary card at 1:00am and the main card at 3:00am / USA – 7:00pm/8:00pm/10:00pm ET (Saturday) and 4:00pm/5:00pm/7:00pm PT (Saturday)
Where is UFC 313? T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, USA
Where can I get tickets for UFC 313? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC 313
What TV channel is UFC 313 on? UK – TNT Sports / USA – ESPN+
Where can I stream UFC 313? UK – TNT Sports subscribers can stream the event online via the TNT Sports website and discovery+ / USA – ESPN+ & UFC Fight Pass
For viewers in the United States, UFC 313 will be shown live on ESPN+ and you can sign up for access as part of a Disney Bundle here!
What time are Curtis Blaydes and Rizvan Kuniev expected to walk out? 2:30am UK / Saturday 8th March, 9:30pm US ET / 6:30pm US PT
UFC 313 Main Card
Alex Pereira vs Magomed Ankalaev (Light Heavyweight)
Justin Gaethje vs Rafael Fiziev (Lightweight)
Jalin Turner vs Ignacio Bahamondes (Lightweight)
Amanda Lemos vs Iasmin Lucindo (Women’s Strawweight)
King Green vs Mauricio Ruffy (Lightweight)
UFC 313 Prelims
Curtis Blaydes vs Rizvan Kuniev (Heavyweight)
Joshua Van vs Rei Tsuruya (Flyweight)
Brunno Ferreira vs Armen Petrosyan (Middleweight)
Alex Morono vs Carlos Leal (Welterweight)
Mairon Santos vs Francis Marshall (Featherweight)
Chris Gutierrez vs John Castaneda (Bantamweight)
Djorden Ribeiro dos Santos vs Osman Diaz (Middleweight)
Curtis Blaydes: Vet hoping to bounce back from interim title shot loss
Curtis Blaydes (18-5 with one no contest) is coming off a first-round knockout loss at the heavy hands of Tom Aspinall last July at UFC 304. That was for the interim UFC heavyweight championship and Blaydes will be desperate to bounce back with a victory and stay within reach of earning another title shot in the near future. Ever since joining the UFC in 2016, Blaydes’ only defeats have come against the very best in the heavyweight division like Aspinall, Francis Ngannou, Serge Pavlovich and Derrick Lewis. He has beaten everybody else and he will be eager to pick up another win over this UFC newcomer.
Rizvan Kuniev: UFC newcomer hoping to impress on debut
Rizvan Kuniev (12-2-1 with one no contest) has earned a shot in the UFC after beating Hugo Cunha in Dana White’s Contender Series in August. The 32-year-old from Dagestan in Russia has not lost a professional MMA fight since 2015 and it will be interesting to see if he can continue this fine streak at the highest level in the Octagon.
Curtis Blaydes vs Rizvan Kuniev Prediction
This heavyweight bout that is the last fight on the prelims at UFC 313 is a really interesting one with so many different factors in play.
There are plenty of questions around Curtis Blaydes and it will be interesting to see if he still has the hunger after losing to Tom Aspinall last time out. He has been involved and some huge fights in the last few years and he could be forgiven for being a little deflated to be fighting on the prelims and against the UFC newcomer.
Kuniev has nothing to lose coming into this fight against such a quality opponent. The Russian will be keen to cause an upset and he will likely look to use his wrestling from early in this fight.
As is always the case with Blaydes, he will look for the knockout right from the start As it will be interesting to see if Kuniev can handle his power.
We have to favour Blaydes but there are risks in this one. Complacency, lack of desire or taking this for granted could be a pitfall for Blaydes. Kuniev is something of an unknown but he poses plenty of threat. Approach this one with caution but it is hard to go against Blaydes.
Prediction: Curtis Blaydes to win
