Ultimate confirms fight between Cigano and Curtis Blaydes for UFC Raleigh in January

J. Cigano at UFC weigh-in. Photo: Reproduction/YouTube SevereMMA

After a scare on the eve of UFC Moscow and being removed from the main fight due to a bacterial infection, junior gypsy is back on an Ultimate card. The athlete is scheduled to face Curtis blaydes in the main fight of UFC Raleigh, on January 25th. The information was released on the company's official Instagram.

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“Who wins the duel between junior gypsy e Curtis blaydes? They will be in the main fight of UFC Raleigh, on January 25th,” they wrote.

The duel between Blaydes and Cigano represents a direct confrontation for a place in a future title fight, which currently belongs to Stipe Miocic. While the North American occupies third place in the division's ranking, behind only Daniel Cormier, Francis Ngannou and, of course, from the champion, Miocic, Cigano comes right after, in fourth.

Curtis achieved the good position after a positive retrospective in his career. The giant is coming off two consecutive victories, which took place in 2019. In his last appearance, the fighter devastated Shamil Abdurakhimov with a knockout in the second round, in a fight that represented one of the battles of the UFC 242, in July.

While Blaydes boasts positive results in his recent trajectory, Cigano, former division champion, seeks to erase the setback suffered to Francis Ngannou, in the main fight of the UFC Minneapolis, in June. At the time, the French-Cameroonian took no notice of the Santa Catarina native and delivered a hard knockout just over a minute into the confrontation.

Júnior should have been one of the protagonists of the UFC Moscow, held at the beginning of November. The athlete, however, contracted a bacterial infection, which led to him being hospitalized for more than a week. The athlete would face Alexander Volkov, but was eventually replaced by Greg hardy.

At 36 years old, Cigano currently has 27 fights as an MMA professional. The athlete has 21 wins and six losses.

Blaydes, 28, has 14 appearances, with 12 triumphs and two setbacks. His last defeat came in November last year, when he was also beaten by Ngannou.

 

View this photo on Instagram

 

Who wins the duel between @JuniorCigano 🇧🇷 and @RazorBlaydes265 🇺🇸? They will headline the #UFCRaleigh on January 25th.

A publication shared by UFC (@ufc_brasil) on Nov 21, 2019 at 7: 30 PST