Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images
Undefeated knockout artist, Edmen Shahbazyan, will square off against well-traveled 185-pound veteran, Derek Brunson, in the UFC Vegas 5 middleweight main event this Sat. night (Aug. 1, 2020) inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Lots of fighters join the UFC roster via Dana White’s “Contender Series” nowadays, occasionally with a fair bit of hype behind them. Some have proven themselves top fighters, but others have washed out or made no significant impact. Predicting which way an individual prospect’s career will head is tricky.
We’re past the point of question with Shahbazyan, who is clearly a really special athlete with a ton of potential. At this point, we’re now asking whether “Golden Boy” is ready for elite competition right now, or if perhaps he just needs another couple years to develop further before stepping into contention.
Let’s take a closer look at his skill set:
Striking
Shahbazyan is a longtime trainee of Edmond Tarverdyan, the (in)famous boxing trainer of Ronda Rousey. Naturally, MMA fans threw shade and “HEAD MOVEMENT” comments initially, but in his four-fight UFC career, Shahbazyan has proven he can strike. More specifically, Shahbazyan can box.
Aside from his work with Tarverdyan, Shahbazyan has a background in Karate, and it is somewhat noticeable. Despite being a full-sized Middleweight, Shahbazyan is quite light on his feet and adapt at managing distance. In the very first exchange of his bout with Darren Stewart, for example, Shahbazyan’s quick pull backward forces a low kick to come up short. Shahbazyan steps back in with a jab and hook that land cleanly (GIF) — this is precise range work.
Shahbazyan puts punches together real well. That starts with the jab, which Shahbazyan steps into well. It’s a quick, stinging shot that Shahbazyan will commonly double up. He very much likes to hook off the jab too, both as a quicker arm punch and with more of a loaded step.
Shahbazyan does a lot of work striking with his lead hand and pulling to avoid the counter, but his right hand is crisp when fired. Against Brad Tavares, he touched his opponent with a few jabs before sticking a perfect cross down the middle and dropping him. In other fights, Shahbazyan has also snuck uppercuts through the center and ripped body shots (GIF). When Shahbazyan steps into the pocket and lets a combination fly, he’s throwing four and five punches smoothly and with real power.
Another likely influence from Shahbazyan’s Karate background is his use of kicks. He doesn’t kick all that often, but Shahbazyan is tricky. In the finishing sequence opposite Tavares, for instance, Shahbazyan twice hid high kicks behind punches. His first kick, a right high kick, came following the jab and a side step, a bit similar to how Robert Whittaker likes to send his right kick. The finish came when Shahbazyan feinted a jab, convinced Tavares to slip the imaginary punch, and instead sent a left kick up to meet his jaw (GIF).
Shahbazyan tends to work well in the clinch. Against Stewart, he managed to land some hard knees from the body lock, and he also broke the clinch with a heavy high kick. In his Contender Series bout and while swarming Tavares, Shahbazyan also did nice work in punching into the clinch, landing a knee, and immediately releasing with body shots or uppercuts.
Defensively, it’s worth-noting that Shahbazyan isn’t all the difficult to hit while in the pocket. His footwork and ability to pull away from punches is generally quite sharp, but he’s largely focused on his own offense when throwing, rather than moving his head afterward. At various points in their very competitive fight, Stewart teed off on the youngster, forcing him to literally run away from exchanges along the fence.
Wrestling
A high school wrestler, Shahbazyan has thus far shown a very solid wrestling game, though admittedly we have a limited amount of footage to analyze.
Primarily, Shahbazyan’s fight with Darren Stewart told us a ton about Shahbazyan. Opposite the dangerous “Dentist,” Shahbazyan’s wrestling was quite sharp early in the fight. Using the jab as his measurement tool, he was able to time takedowns really well. Once in on a high-crotch or double leg, Shahbazyan cut the angle well and tended to finish his shots.
He did have trouble keeping his foe down, however. Stewart repeatedly scooted his way to the fence and wall-walked. Shahbazyan did well to work his way to the back clinch, where he repeatedly drug his foe back down and briefly took the back on a couple occasions.
Unfortunately, that’s an exhausting way to fight. By the third round, Shahbazyan was spent, and his wrestling grew a lot sloppier. His shots were ugly, and Stewart even tripped him down in the final couple minutes.
All in all, Shahbazyan showed a lot of wrestling craft for a kickboxing-focused 21-year-old. However, Brunson is definitely the most threatening wrestler he’s ever faced, so we may learn more from this bout.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Shahbazyan has just a single submission win on his record and a pretty effortless one at that. Against Jack Marshman, a brawler not known for his grappling, Shahbazyan pretty easily scored a takedown. From top position, Shahbazyan unleashed a flurry of ground strikes, prompting Marshman to turn away.
“Golden Boy” hopped onto the back and choked him out soon after.
Conclusion
There’s still a lot to learn about Edmen Shahbazyan, who has only really been tested once in his professional career. While there may still be unknown weaknesses to his game or flaws that elite fighters can really counter, it’s hard not to be excited about such a talented 22-year-old knockout artist.
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Andrew Richardson, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt, is a professional fighter who trains at Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, California. In addition to learning alongside world-class talent, Andrew has scouted opponents and developed winning strategies for several of the sport’s most elite fighters.