Curtis Blaydes has to defend his spot against another up-and-coming heavyweight talent.
On Tuesday, the UFC officially announced several bouts for its upcoming UFC 327 event at Kaseya Center in Miami on April 11, including Blaydes (19-5, 1 NC) taking on the undefeated Josh Hokit (8-0).
Blaydes won a split decision this past June over a game Rizvan Kuniev, who was making his UFC debut. “Razor” has alternated wins and losses in his past five fights, a run that includes a victory over Jailton Almeida
and a loss to Tom Aspinall in a rematch that was for Aspinall’s interim heavyweight title.
A 2025 Contender Series signing, Hokit has impressed in his first two UFC fights, scoring one-sided knockout victories over Max Gimenis and Denzel Freeman, while garnering added attention for his brash, professional wrestling-style promos.
Several previously reported bouts were also made official, including Johnny Walker vs. Dominick Reyes, Azamat Murzakanov vs. Paulo Costa, Tatiana Suarez vs. Lupita Godinez, and Cub Swanson vs. Nate Landwehr.
A pair of bouts featuring welterweight veterans are now part of the schedule, as Kevin Holland fights Randy Brown and Kyle Daukaus fights Vicente Luque.
UFC 327 is yet to have a designated headliner, though a flyweight title bout between champion Joshua Van and Tatsura Taira has been announced for the card.
