Vegas Goes ‘All In’ With Edmon Shahbazyan Vying for a Knockout at UFC Fight Night
UFC Fight Night will occur in Las Vegas at the Meta APEX, and the fighters who come along with them are eager to put on a spectacle on June 6th at 8:00 p.m. EDT. This eager group of fighters on the main card of UFC Fight Night features fighters like Belal Muhammad vs. Gabriel Bonfim. However, while they are the main event, the fighters who will come before them deserve attention, too. These fighters are Brendan Allen, who has taken the nickname of ‘All In’, and Edmen Shahbazyan, who has taken the nickname of ‘The Golden Boy’. Overall, it's shaping up to be a knockout artist versus a seasoned fighter who is comfortable grappling just as much as he’s comfortable standing.
The seasoned fighter of the two is none other than Allen. He is coming in slightly older, at 30 years of age, and with a record of 26-7-0. He is no stranger to the UFC mechanics of scorecards and running the time to the end of a bout since he’s walked away with a unanimous and split-decision win in two of his last five fights. He doesn’t have to rely solely upon that either. Instead, ‘All In’ really can go all in on the ground as he’s currently sitting at 14 submission wins for his total record. In short, he is the version of the future fighter his competitor will be. Even if Shahbazyan can get close for a knockout, he’ll have to be wary of a takedown the entire time.
Speaking of ‘The Golden Boy’, he isn’t a slouch either, as his record of 16-5-0 and 13 wins by knockout demonstrates his preferred method to closing a fight undisputedly. However, he can’t rely solely on that as his main strategy. Even sitting at 28 years old and being the younger fighter, he is not fast enough to evade all of the strikes or takedown attempts that will be made by his 30-year-old opponent. He will have to capitalize on his higher 3.80 strikes landed per minute average, mixed with the caution of staying away from any grappling scenarios. If he happens to find himself in a clinch, he is actually not too much of a stranger to surviving until he can break away and regain distance.
Distance isn’t the final factor in determining the victor of a fight, and when the statistics are compiled together, they point to Allen as the winner of this bout. It isn’t too much of a question either, as he is the most all-around fighter who will see many of the strikes coming from his opponent. The 28-year-old fighter's opponent could not only stay away but also use any takedown attempts to deny ‘All In’ points as he absorbs only 3.60 strikes per minute. Although it won’t be nearly as effective against a submission average of 1.1, which belongs to the seasoned 30-year-old fighter.
