Daniel Sarafian Dropping to Welterweight, Will Meet Kiichi Kunimoto at UFC 174

Daniel Sarafian will make his welterweight debut at UFC 174 against Japanese standout Kiichi Kunimoto, officials announced on Tuesday.

The Sarafian-Kunimoto match-up is the first of what is expected to be several fights announced in the coming weeks for the card, which takes place in Vancouver, B.C., Canada on June 14.

Sarafian (8-4) gained notoriety as a cast member of the first edition of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil. Since competing as a middleweight on the show, the fighter has moved on to the UFC’s 185-pound division, but has lost two of three in his tenure.

UFC 174 will Sarafian’s first career fight at 170 pounds.

Kunimoto (16-5-2, 1 NC) has one previous appearance in the UFC, a win by disqualification against Luiz Jorge Dutra Jr. at UFC Fight Night 34. Prior to joining the UFC, Kunimoto made waves in the Japanese circuit with half of his wins coming by way of submission.

UFC 174 is without a headliner at this time, but a featured bout is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.