Heavyweights Curtis Blaydes, Junior dos Santos to Meet in UFC Raleigh Headliner on Jan. 25

A heavyweight clash pitting Curtis Blaydes against Junior dos Santos will serve as the headliner when the Ultimate Fighting Championship travels to Raleigh, N.C., for the first time on Jan. 25.

ESPN was first to report the booking. Both Blaydes and dos Santos have agreed to the matchup, but the bout has not yet been officially signed. UFC Fight Night takes place at PNC Arena and is expected to air on ESPN+.

Blaydes is 7-2 with one no contest during his promotional tenure. Most recently, the Elevation Fight Team representative defeated Shamil Abdurakhimov via second-round TKO at UFC 242 on Sept. 7. Blaydes also owns notable wins over the likes of Alistair Overeem, Mark Hunt and Alexey Oleynik. His only career losses have come at the hands of top contender Francis Ngannou.

Dos Santos, meanwhile, had a three-fight winning streak snapped at UFC on ESPN 3, where he suffered a first-round TKO loss to Ngannou. “Cigano” was slated to face Alexander Volkov in the UFC Moscow main event but had to pull out due to a bacterial infection in his leg. The former heavyweight champion boasts victories against Stipe Miocic, Cain Velasquez, Frank Mir, Roy Nelson, Shane Carwin, Fabricio Werdum, Mirko Filipovic and Derrick Lewis, to name a few.