Edmen Shahbazyan lost his match at UFC on ESPN+ 31.
In his first UFC main event, Shahbazyan (11-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) was defeated by Derek Brunson via third-round TKO. Shahbazyan was a heavy favorite entering the middleweight bout – a -366 on average across all major sports books.
Despite suffering the first loss of his career, Shahbazyan still showed signs of promise, according to his boss, UFC president Dana White.
“Yeah, I think the kid is good,” White told reporters. “I’m not taking anything away from Brunson, but he looked gassed out in the second round. But you’ve got to credit Brunson for that, too. I think that Brunson mixed up his striking and his wrestling tonight like he used to. He also came in in great shape. He definitely came in better shape than Shahbazyan.”
Shahbazyan, 22, won his first four UFC bouts entering Saturday. Prior to UFC on ESPN+ 31, Shahbazyan had not lost in his professional career, which dates back to February 2017.
