Fans got a bit of bad news about a highly-anticipated middleweight bout between Jack Hermansson and Edmen Shahbazyan scheduled for UFC 262 this Saturday.
The fight has been pushed back one week for an undisclosed reason after Shahbazyan alluded to the news on his Twitter page on Monday.
“I guess we wait another week… May 22 here we come! Back to Vegas!” Shahbazyan tweeted.
The bout will be reportedly moved to UFC Vegas 27 on May 22nd, which includes the bantamweight main event between Cody Garbrandt and Rob Font. It’s unclear just yet where exactly the new middleweight bout addition will be slated on the card, but it’s sure to boost the interest of fans for yet another stacked UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas.
Both Hermansson and Shahbazyan come into the fight with plenty to prove. Hermansson is coming off a tough short-notice loss to Marvin Vettori at UFC Vegas 16, while Shahbazyan hasn’t competed since falling to Derek Brunson in the main event at UFC Vegas 5.
In a recent interview with LowKickMMA, Hermansson spoke about the matchup with Shahbazyan and how excited he was to prove a point in the UFC’s stacked middleweight division.
“He’s a good opponent and a great standup fighter,” Hermansson said. “He’s a good challenge, but on the other hand I believe my style is a good matchup against him. I feel ready to fight.”
For the 23-year-old Shahbazyan, he’ll enter the delayed fight as one of the long-regarded top middleweight prospects in the UFC. He had been on a four-fight winning streak to start his UFC career before the loss to Brunson.
While the news is surely upsetting for both sides of the bout, the anticipation for a very important middleweight fight between Hermansson and Shahbazyan will go unchanged.
How do you feel about Jack Hermansson vs. Edmen Shahbazyan getting pushed back a week after UFC 262? What are your predictions for the fight?