The Shahbazyan bandwagon hit another big bump in the road on Saturday night.
UFC Vegas 27 saw Edmen Shahbazyan drop a unanimous decision to Jack Hermansson 29–27 on all three scorecards. It’s the 23 year old prospect’s second loss in a row and one that re-exposed the holes in his ground game.
Now Shahbazyan has released a statement on the defeat, and he’s vowing to fix the holes in his game and come back better than ever.
“Thank you all for your love and support!!” he wrote on Instagram. “I know I’m capable of better. In this fight game, small mistakes or decisions can change the whole fight. I’m gonna work harder and be back the best version of me. Never quit, I will always put my heart and soul out there all the way.”
Shahbazyan came into the UFC with a lot of hype back in 2018 via Dana White’s Contender Series, where he annihilated his opponent Antonio Jones in 40 seconds. His first four fights? Four wins, and three with finishes.
But a big step up in competition saw him get TKO’d by Derek Brunson in August of 2020. Now Jack Hermansson has outworked him, leaving Shahbazyan clinging to his #10 ranking at middleweight rather than moving within striking range of the top 5.
Of course Shahbazyan is young and can turn things around. But the momentum he had through 2018 / 2019 is definitely gone, and it’s going to be a hard grind from here on out with everyone exploiting his weakness on the ground.