A fight between UFC veteran Derek Brunson and undefeated prospect Edmen Shahbazyan will be taking place on August 1 in Las Vegas.
Per Brett Okamoto of ESPN, a middleweight bout between perennial contender Derek Brunson and undefeated prospect Edmen Shahbazyan is set for August 1 in Las Vegas. This is the third time the fight has been booked, having previously moved from UFC 248 on March 7 to the co-headline spot for UFC Portland on April 11 prior to the event being cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Breaking: Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) vs. Edmen Shahbazyan (@edmenshahbazyan) booked (again) for UFC Fight Night on 8/1, per sources. Third time is a charm. Was booked 3/7 and 4/11 previously. pic.twitter.com/Im7B8BXjwA
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) June 8, 2020
Derek Brunson (20-7) will be looking to turn back a rising star and reestablish himself in the middleweight division with a win over Shahbazyan. A veteran of the UFC since 2012, Brunson has fought some of the biggest names in the history of the middleweight division in Anderson Silva, Israel Adesanya, Robert Whittaker, Lyoto Machida and others. Brunson is currently on a two fight win-streak with victories over Elias Theodorou and Ian Heinisch. The fight with Shahbazyan will be his first since August of 2019.
Edmen “The Golden Boy” Shahbazyan (11-0) will be looking to establish himself as a contender in the division as he takes a leap in competition against Brunson. Fighting out of Glendale, CA under Edmond Tarverdyan, Shahbazyan tore through the local circuit with six straight finishes before getting the opportunity to fight on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018. Since then, he has notched four victories in the promotion and this year was ranked third in ESPN’s top 25 MMA fighters under the age of 25. Shahbazyan is also managed by UFC legend Ronda Rousey through her management team, One Fight Management.
Headlining the event will be a bantamweight contest between former champion Holly Holm and Irene Aldana. No further details on the undercard have been released.
