Middleweight Edmen Shahbazyan looked to distance himself from a recent rough patch at UFC Vegas 73, coming into his co-main event fight with Anthony Hernandez off a win over Dalcha Lungiambula.
Once considered a top prospect in the 185lb division, a second straight win would at least help Shahbazyan regain his prospect status while still just 25.
“Fluffy” Hernandez, meanwhile, was winner of his last three fights. Coming into this fight at UFC Vegas 73 he was the favorite with the line at -205 on DraftKings.
The start of the first round Shahbazyan hurt Hernandez early with the jab, where he was finding a lot of success. The two fighters had tons of great scrambles and submission attempts, with each fighter looking to find their own guillotine. Shahbazyan looked to have his in tight, but “Fluffy” was able to get out to finish out the round.
The fighters took this high pace into the second round, with Hernandez landing an early takedown that Shahbazyan was able to quickly get back to his feet. They had a few exchanges on the feet, but coming out of one of them, Hernandez landed a clean elbow. Shahbazyan looked to get this fight back to the ground, but Hernandez stuffed his takedown. He ended up on top, looking for submissions and staying active with heavy ground and pound to end the round. Herb Dean told Edmen Shahbazyan he “needed to see more from him” or else he would stop the fight.
The third and final round is something most did not expect with the way the first two rounds went. Hernandez came out as if shot from a cannon, landing a takedown and eventually putting himself in a dominant position to land nasty and heavy shots, which led to ref Dean stopping the fight.
Anthony Hernandez was impressive at UFC Vegas 73, winning his fourth fight in a row, with three of his last four wins coming by finish. Edmen Shahbazyan was not able to keep pace after the first round, which led to his downfall. The question now becomes whether Anthony Hernandez will find himself in the rankings after his fourth straight win.
Official Result: Anthony Hernandez def. Edmen Shahbazyan by TKO, Round 3, 1:01
