Las Vegas — Past struggles seemingly behind him, middleweight Edmen Shahbazyan finds himself in the co-main event at UFC Vegas 118, in a fight with perennial contender Brendan Allen.
It’s a fight that came together seemingly overnight, with Allen claiming that Dricus Du Plessis had declined to fight him. “I said yes immediately,” Shahbazyan (16-5) said of the UFC’s offering of Allen during this week’s UFC Vegas 118 media day. “The fight got done quick.”
Shahbazyan, as is well known, came into the UFC hot after appearing on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018. He was fighting out of Glendale Fighting Club, Ronda Rousey’s old home. Four straight wins, including one against veteran Brad Tavares, had him sailing.
Then came the downturn. Three losses, then a 2-2 stretch. It took a while, but Shahbazyan once again has three straight wins. He wouldn’t change a thing.
“I wouldn’t take back anything that happened in the past. I think, just God’s timing. And here we are. I’m a lot better fighter today. More mature, more established, and Saturday night’s going to be a good night, I promise.”
As to what will get him back in the right spot, not just winning but standing out, “always a good finish or a good win,” noted Shahbazyan. “That’s what’s going to get you there.”
The key to winning Saturday, Shahbazyan told Cageside Press this week, is establishing his kind of fight right from the opening bell. “For sure, yeah. I gotta establish myself from the beginning of fight and keep it that way all the way.”
And while his advantage might be on the feet, Edmen Shahbazyan feels he’s being overlooked, or at least underestimated, to some extent in other areas.
“A lot of people will say it’s on the feet, but I think people underestimate every other part of my game. Come Saturday night, if the fight goes anywhere else, they’ll see.”
Watch the full UFC Vegas 118 media day appearance by Edmen Shahbazyan above.