Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight sensation Edmen Shahbazyan is undefeated in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career, having racked up nine violent knockouts in 11 wins in the past three years.
Don’t expect Derek Brunson to be impressed.
Probably because the lifelong veteran has already fought the world’s best on multiple occasions, like Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker, just to name a few, and it’s unlikely that he will see anything from Shahbazyan that he hasn’t found.
“I am not really worried about the hype or anything like that,” Brunson told reporters on Thursday’s media day (via MMA Junkie). “This do not affect me. My job is to go out there and get the win by any means (necessary), so that’s what I’m focused on. He beat the boys in front of him and won his first two fights, and now this is his test. I am a veteran now. I’ve had a lot of fights in the UFC, a lot of fights in Zuffa, and being myself out there. ”
Brunson (20-7) is looking to achieve his third consecutive victory after capturing consecutive victories over Elias Theodorou and Ian Heinisch. Shahbazyan, meanwhile, is a perfect 11-0 (4-0 inside the Octagon), which includes his knockout victory over middleweight veteran Brad Tavares.
Beating Shahbazyan could help Brunson find redemption after being stopped by Adesanya, another undefeated who used Strikeforce import as a springboard for bigger and better things in the division.
We will find out this weekend in “Sin City”.
MMAmania.com Will Offer LIVE Coverage Round By Round, Knock By Knock Of Entire UFC Vegas 5 Fight Card RIGHT HERE, starting with ESPN + “Preliminaries” scheduled to begin at 6 pm ET, followed by the portion of the main card that also airs on ESPN + at 9 pm ET.
For the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 5: “Brunson vs Shahbazyan” news and notes, be sure to visit our comprehensive archive of events here.
