Jason Silva-USA TODAY Sports
No “Fight Island,” no problem. Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is headed back home to Las Vegas, Nevada to stage its next round of fights, as the promotion will stage five events in August inside its APEX facility right smack in the heart of “Sin City.”
The action all begins this Sat. night (Aug. 1, 2020) with Derek Brunson and Edmen Shabazyan throwing down in a Middleweight bout in the main event of UFC Vegas 5. The bout was moved up from its original co-headlining spot after Irene Aldana was forced out of her bantamweight bout against Holly Holm after testing positive for COVID-19.
Brunson is looking to earn his third straight victory over a man many are hailing as the future of the division. Shahbazyan has yet to taste defeat in mixed martial arts (MMA), going 11-0 (4-0 inside the Octagon). Before then, let’s take a trip down memory lane to see one of Brunson’s most impressive wins inside the Octagon.
Back in 2017, Derek traveled to Brazil to take on one of its favorite native sons, former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida. As expected, the action was played out on the feet with Brunson lunging in with his unorthodox aggressive style, while “The Dragon” was content with playing the counter-attack game, as usual.
Midway through the opening frame, Brunson tagged Machida with a sneaky left hook, rocking the former champ. Five follow up shots later and Machida was seeing stars. Now, Brunson will look to end a rising star’s streak in an attempt to get into the championship picture.
In the co-main event, Joanne Calderwood will put her title shot against current Flyweight champion, Valentina Shevchenko, on hold to face Jennifer Maia while Vicente Luque faces Randy Brown in Welterweight action.
To see the updated UFC “Brunson vs. Shahbazyan” fight card and line up for Aug. 1 in Las Vegas click here.