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UFC Confirms 4 Contender Fights for Seattle Event, Including 30-Fight Veteran

Four high-stakes matchups get added to UFC Seattle.

Mathew Riddle

UFC

The UFC has officially confirmed four more fights for UFC Seattle on February 22, 2025.

In a post on December 23, the promotion confirmed fights featuring veterans Edson Barboza and Curtis Blaydes and a high-stakes matchup between Jean Silva and Melsik Bagdhasaryan.

All announced fights:

Edson Barboza vs. Steve Garcia

Edson Barboza
Apr 15, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Edson Barboza (red gloves) reacts after the fight against Billy Quarantillo (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at T-Mobile Center. / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

30-UFC fight veteran Edson Barboza takes on rising prospect Steve Garcia, who rides one of the longest finishing streaks in the UFC currently at five. Garcia has been on a tear at featherweight since bouncing back from a loss to Maheshate in 2022.

Barboza looked to be in good form with a two-fight winning streak against Billy Quarantillo and Sodiq Yusuf in 2023. However, his most recent fight was a dominant loss to Lerone Murphy in the main event of UFC Vegas 92 in May.

Ketlen Vieira vs. Macy Chiasson

Curtis Blaydes vs. Rizvan Kuniev

Curtis Blaydes
Mar 9, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Curtis Blaydes reacts after defeating Jailton Almeida during UFC 299 at Kayesa Center. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Russia's Kuniev debuts against No. 5-ranked heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes. Kuniev impressed with a first-round finish on the Contender Series in 2024. This will be Blaydes' first fight since being knocked out by Tom Aspinall at UFC 304; he hasn't lost twice in a row in his professional career.

Jean Silva vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan

Jean Silva was one of the three fighting nerds (Silva, Mauricio Ruffy, Carlos Prates) to go undefeated in 2024. He impressed with back-to-back stoppages over Charles Jourdain and Drew Dober, and will be returning to the featherweight division for a crack at Bagdhasaryan.

Aptly nicknamed 'The Gun', Bagdhasaryan is a fierce kickboxer with lightning-fast kicks. His one UFC loss came at the hands of Josh Culibao in a come-from-behind upset in 2023. Since then, Baghdasaryan has put together one Octagon victory and will be looking to steal Silva's hype in Seattle.

The full announced UFC Seattle lineup is as follows (subject to change):

  • Modesatas Bukauskas vs. Raffael Cerqueira
  • Jean Silva vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan
  • Adam Fugitt vs. Islam Dulatov
  • Curtis Blaydes vs. Rizvan Kuniev
  • Ion Cutelaba vs. Ibo Aslan
  • Brendan Allen vs. Anthony Hernandez
  • Edson Barboza vs. Steve Garcia
  • Ketlen Vieira vs. Macy Chiasson

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Mathew Riddle
MATHEW RIDDLE

Mathew is a UK-based combat sports journalist, graphic designer, and SEO expert with over five years of experience in digital marketing and a dedicated four-year track record in MMA journalism. He joined MMAKO in 2023. Mathew's insights have been featured on The Fight Fanatic, Heavy on UFC, Fansided, and Sportskeeda. Reach him at mr@thefightfanatic.com.

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