A pair of ranked middleweights will look to get back on track at UFC 262.
Manouk Akopyan of the LA Times was the first to report the news that No. 6 ranked middleweight Jack Hermansson will fight No. 12 Edmen Shahbazyan.
Hermansson (21-6) will look to rebound from his recent loss to Marvin Vettori in December. He lost a unanimous decision and had his No. 4 ranking snagged from him. There were whispers he was close to a title shot if he were to win. Before his loss to Vettori, “The Joker” submitted Kelvin Gastelum in under two minutes on ‘Fight Island’ last June.
Shahbazyan (11-1) had his undefeated record taken from him in his last fight. In his first main event against Derek Brunson, he got demolished and eventually finished in the third round. Before his first loss, the 23-year-old was on a three-fight finish streak over names such as Brad Tavares, Jack Marshman, and Charles Byrd. Shahbazyan has only been to the judges’ scorecards once in his 11 wins.
UFC 262 takes place May 15, 2021. With the addition of Hermansson vs. Shahbazyan, the event now contains the following fights:
- Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler – for the vacant UFC lightweight championship
- Tony Ferguson vs. Beneil Dariush
- Jack Hermansson vs. Edmen Shahbazyan
- Priscila Cachoeira vs. Gina Mazany
- Katlyn Chookagian vs. Viviane Araújo
- Alex Perez vs. Matt Schnell
- Andrea Lee vs. Antonina Shevchenko
- Edson Barboza vs. Shane Burgos
- Jordan Wright vs. Jamie Pickett
- Christos Giagos vs. Joel Álvarez
